


Settling the Dust

by CynthiaK2014



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV), Wild Wild West (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 04:51:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4046728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynthiaK2014/pseuds/CynthiaK2014
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This one is from Josiah and Ezra's POVs.  All my Ezras are different in the Old West Dust series.  This one turned into sex-kitten-Ezra.  It also extends to my Wild Wild West story already posted.  So my first Crossover.   Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Josiah  
******************

I finished the days work with a sigh of satisfaction. Every time I looked around at yet another project done, I felt some of the pain of my past recede a little further. This was not my father’s church and there would be no fire and brimstone spoken here. But there was still some melancholy inside my soul for I had no one with whom to share this. I shook myself back to the present and went in to wash my hands. I’d worked up an appetite.

Dinner at the saloon was part of my daily routine and Inez brought my plate almost immediately after I sat down at the corner table. Ezra was already playing cards with a couple of cowboys and I watched him without seeming to. His smile seemed a trifle forced to me and I pondered why that might be.

I tried to be there for all my compatriots but I simply could not be impartial to the wounded dark-haired man at the poker table. Something in him called to me like the siren’s song in Homer. I’d fought my attraction from the moment I met him, nothing in his demeanor telling me that he might be open to a more personal relationship.

But lately, he’d seemed more troubled than usual and I’d gone out of my way to speak to him or join the game. He almost always relaxed when we were alone and I felt that his smile was completely genuine then. He liked me to tell him stories about my travels and I could see that far away look that told me he was imagining himself there. And how I wish he had been with me.

Sharp voices brought me back to the here and now. I’d finished my pork and beans even mopped up the gravy with my bread so nothing would keep me from helping out where I was needed. Ezra was shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile but one of the cowboys seemed to be too drunk to pay attention to what he was saying.

Smoothly, I got up and crossed to the table, standing behind the belligerent. “Now, brothers, I see that one of you has had a little too much to drink. Perhaps you gentlemen would be willing to help him up to your room, if you have one?”

“I’m juss’ fine, mister. Thish guy isn’t dealin’ right.” He slued around in his chair and I watched his eyes get bigger and bigger when they had to climb so far up to meet mine.

“I can see that you’re indeed fine, brother but I also think that you’ve looked on the wine when it was red and perhaps need to go and sleep it off.” I patted his shoulder heavily. “Why tomorrow is Sunday and I’d hate for you to miss my sterling sermon on temperance at eight o’clock. I can expect to see you, brother, can’t I?”

“Okay,” was all he said before his eyes rolled back inside his head and he fell forward into my arms.

His friends just laughed but obeyed my request that they put him to bed. That left Ezra free and he smiled up at me with his real smile, the one I liked to think belonged to me only. “Mr. Sanchez, do you even have a sermon on temperance?”

I sat down across from him. “Indeed I do, Ezra, it belonged to my father and I remember every word of it. He usually delivered it to some poor sinner too drunk to understand him but I heard it so many times that it is permanently etched into my memory.”

“Then I shall not ever ask to hear it, not if it brings you pain.” He said quietly and blushed a little when I gazed at him in wonder. “Would you like a game, Sir?”

“Yes, I think I would. Nothing finishes off a good day like playing a little poker with a friend.” I reassured him and he blushed even harder. My heart was beating faster for some reason and my pants tightened over my slumbering cock.

We played a hand by ourselves before being joined by Vin and Buck just in off patrol. When Chris joined us, we played one more hand before Ezra bid us goodnight. I had been wondering for some time if he might not feel something for the man who led us. Something beyond friendship. That melancholy struck yet again and I pushed back from the table with my own goodnight.

Three more days had passed when I realized that Ezra was in pain. He rarely ate with much appetite but even that seemed to have failed him. It was September and the days were growing shorter, the weather finally giving way to autumn. It rarely rained more than enough to settle the dust on the boardwalk but the skies betokened a real storm brewing and I hurried to the saloon for my dinner.

Ezra was sitting alone at the table where I usually sat and I looked at him while I made my way over to him. He was idly moving his fork through the beans on his plate but the frown between his eyes was a deep one. He looked up when I sat down beside him. I took a chance that no one would notice and rested my hand on his cheek. He was burning up.

“Josiah.” His pretty green eyes were dull with fatigue. “I don’t feel very well.”

It was a measure of his pain that he used my first name instead of insisting on being his formal self. “You’re running a fever, Ezra. What hurts the most?”

“My side feels like a mule kicked me.” He laid down his fork and went a pale shade of green.

And that scared me right into movement. “Come on, Ezra. I think we’ll pay a little visit to Nathan.”

He just nodded, which told me how much he was hurting. When he stood, he doubled over with an almost silent cry. I hurriedly swung him up in my arms and left out the back of the saloon. He had one arm around my neck and his face was buried in my shoulder. He’d lost weight and I felt how light he was in my arms. That made me hurry faster. Vin caught sight of us in the dusk and he joined us in time to open the door for us at Nathan’s.

Our healer was startled but he immediately beckoned me to bring Ezra over to his examining table. And it was exactly what I feared; Ezra’s appendix was inflamed and needed to come out. Vin went to tell the others and Nathan put the kettle on to boil while I gently undressed Ezra. I silently wished that I were doing this for a different reason. His skin was burning everywhere and his little whimpers of pain were almost more than I could stand. I was almost glad when Nathan put him out with ether.

I held the light steady while he made the incision above where the organ should be. When he found it, he grimaced, muttering that it was twice its normal size. He hurriedly tied it off from its neighbor and cut the connection before easing it out and into a china bowl he had ready. At that very moment it left his hand, it burst and spewed all over the white porcelain.

“Damn, that was close. If it had burst in there, the infection would have killed him. You’d be burying him within the week.” Nathan was sweating but his hands were steady while he sewed up the four-inch wide incision. “He was lucky, Josiah.”

“We all were, Nathan. I don’t want to lose any of us.” I was singing hosannas in my heart.

“But especially not Ezra.” Those dark eyes of his met mine and I nodded. “I didn’t think much of him when we first met, Josiah. But it’s been a year now and I’m beginning to think I might have been a mite mistaken. I hated every thing about the South for so long that it didn’t occur to me that Ezra was a man who just happened to be from that part of the country.”

“He’s a good man, Nathan, who has always held his demons inside of him, like the rest of us.” I dared to say a little more. “I guess I hoped that in time he might be willing to share his pain and let it go.”

“Well, if anyone can help him with that, I’d say that you were the man. He likes you and he always relaxes when you come into the room.” Nathan was rubbing Ezra down with a cloth soaked in alcohol and keeping a sharp eye on the incision. “Why don’t you take over here for me while I go tell the guys that Ezra will be just fine?”

I looked at him and saw nothing but acceptance in his gaze. My fingers had been itching to take the cloth from his hand the moment he started touching him. “What do I do if he comes to?”

“He won’t be coming out of the ether for at least twelve hours. In fact, why don’t you move him over to the bed when you finish wiping him down. He’ll be more comfortable there when he finally does wake up. If he feels hot, cool him down. And watch the incision to make sure that it doesn’t redden.” Nathan handed me the cloth. “You know where the water is, so use it cool instead of the alcohol. I don’t want his skin to dry out. Tomorrow we’ll put some comfrey salve on the stitches so he doesn’t have too bad a scar.”

“Why don’t you eat dinner while you’re there, Nathan? I won’t leave him.” I vowed.

“I think I will, Josiah. And I’ll bet you didn’t get to eat either so I’ll bring you back something in an hour or so.” Nathan smiled and patted my shoulder before he left me alone with the man I was beginning to think I loved more than was good for either of us.

I carefully wiped his entire body with the alcohol, hating the heat I felt but loving each inch of satin smooth skin. His groin was especially beautiful to my eyes, his organ of a pleasing length and thickness. Right then I felt nary a twitch in my own groin because I was too busy worshipping the pale body before me. When I was done, he felt a fraction cooler to my touch. 

Turning back the covers on the bed that Nathan kept always ready, I gently lifted him in my arms and tenderly laid him down on the soft sheets. Checking the incision again, I felt the heat radiating from it with the tips of my fingers. My prayers were fervent and sent to every god or goddess I’d met up with on my travels. I bathed his body over and over with the cool water, changing the one over the incision every few moments.

When Nathan returned, we took turns bathing him until he seemed to reach a temperature that felt comfortable to him. I sent Nathan to his own bed while I stayed by Ezra’s side, holding his hand in mine and praying silently. Just before dawn, he began to move a little. When I stroked his forehead, he smiled and turned into my hand just like an old cat I’d had once, trapping my hand beneath his cheek.

That innocent gesture did what not even the sight of his naked body had done, hardened me completely. I was going to have to go relieve myself before any of the others saw me but I couldn’t go until Nathan woke up. Within the hour, I was on my way back to the church, walking briskly but with my coat closed over my inappropriate erection.

Once in the privacy of my own room at the back of the church, I locked the door behind me and began tearing off my clothes. Lying back onto my bed, I took myself in hand and finally allowed my memory of that pale, beautiful body to come to the fore. The way his cock lay in its nest of dark curls and the pretty pink nipples that peaked when I touched them, all were part of the pictures in my mind while I roughly stroked my cock to completion.

And I felt ashamed at how I’d abused his innocence.

***************** 

A week later and Ezra was ready to leave the small clinic for good. He was still weak and Nathan told him in front of me that he shouldn’t be alone just yet. I took hold of my courage and will power, offering him my room until he was able to be on his own. He looked at me so shyly that I silently vowed to behave myself no matter what.

But he agreed and that was all that was important. He still could barely walk across the room so I let him walk downstairs by himself before picking him up and taking him the back way to the church. The others were there to greet him and he seemed surprised but pleased at their attention. He quickly tired though and they left us after an hour of catching him up on all the latest gossip.

He insisted on walking back to my room on his own but he was pale and trembling when he got there. Sitting down heavily on the bed, he took a deep breath then another. “I dislike this weakness intensely.”

I knelt before him. “I know you do, Ezra but it’s only for a little while until you build up your strength again. And until then, please let me help you.”

He tilted his head the way he did sometimes when he was thinking hard. Whatever he was thinking about, he finally must have reached a decision because those green eyes of his met mine with a very determined look. “Josiah, do you love me?”

I felt my heart almost jump out of my chest. “Yes, Ezra, I do.”

“I don’t know about men making love to men but I think I would like to learn from the man for whom I find I have feelings.” He spoke with a little catch in his voice and I knew I was in big trouble.

“Thank you, Ezra. How about we take it very slow?” I moved my hands to his knees and rested them there gently, not wanting to spook him further.

He blushed then covered my hands with his, those long slender fingers sliding over mine so innocently that I could have cried. “Yes, please, I would like that immensely.”

I had to clear my throat before I could speak again. “Then that’s what we’ll do. How about we start by getting you comfortable?”

“Only if you’re going to join me, Josiah. I want to see all of you if you’re going to see all of me.” He leaned forward and slid open my top button while I frantically told my cock to stop swelling before I scared him half to death. Not even deep breaths were going to help me out here once I felt his hands on my skin.

“Josiah, you’re trembling.” His concerned tones brought me back to this impossible dream that was unfolding before me.

“I’ve wanted you for a very long time, Ezra and your touch affects me more it should.” I told him truthfully and watched him smile at me.

It was the smile that showed his dimples and I couldn’t help myself. With a low moan, I covered that smile with my lips and drank in his gasp like it was food of the gods. I had enough self-control to keep it gentle but the taste of him would never be enough. Slowly, I drew back and watched his eyes open to meet mine.

“Oh my, Josiah. I want more.” He unbuttoned another button and I felt his fingers brush against my skin but on purpose this time. “I think I will trade you kisses for buttons.”

I had to chuckle at the ingenuous look he sent me while I started a little unbuttoning of my own. I hadn’t been there to help him dress and believe me I liked undressing him even more. All too soon, he was down to his pants and so was I. Matter of factly, I tugged off his boots and socks before gently laying him back onto the sheets and unbuttoning his pants. He was wearing some kind of silk drawers that slid right off those slender hips of his.

But unlike the last time I’d seen him this time his cock was hard and arcing above his stomach like a beautiful flag. He was blushing all the way down to his toes but I just kissed him again and let my hand slide around him while he whimpered under my lips. That sound was a positive aphrodisiac to me and I quietly undid my own pants before my cock strangled.

“Ezra, I need you to just lay there and feel good while I take care of you. Please?” I pleaded while my hand kept on slowly moving up and down his cock.

“Oh God, Josiah, that feels so good.” He was panting but trying not to move for me. With a long arm, I brought the pillow down to him and got him arranged so there wasn’t any pressure on the still healing incision.

And then I finally let myself taste him intimately. He was already leaking and I knew this first time would be fast if only because I didn’t want him hurting himself. So, I slid him deep and sucked just a little while his hips tried to come up off of the bed. Again and yet again I coaxed him to come for me and shortly thereafter, he cried out and gave me his seed. When I finally let him go, I discovered he’d passed out.

Standing was awkward but I got him under the covers then sat down on the edge of the bed to take off my boots and socks. With a sigh of relief, I slid off my pants and stood to kick them off completely.

“Josiah, let me see you.” A hesitant hand stroked my leg and I almost came from that single touch. When I turned, his eyes were huge and he sat up with only a little wince. “Oh my, Josiah, you are quite . . . large. I want to touch him.”

He was going to be the death of me but I could no more deny him then I could forswear the Lord. So I pushed back the covers and slid in next to him while he scooted over to give me room, his eyes never once leaving my cock. “He belongs to you now, Ezra. You do what ever you want with him.”

That smile made my heart dance and his first shy, hesitant touch to the crown almost made me come right then. But I could see his curious nature come to the fore and he knelt by my hip and lightly stroked me the way I had him. I tried to prolong the experience by reciting the really boring parts of the Bible but my mind kept wanting to skip to the Song of Solomon. But when he leaned over and licked away a bead of fluid from my slit, I lost all control and spasmed in his hand over and over until I was finished.

He was licking me clean and I hadn’t even lost my hardness, my body already readying itself for more. But I could see his hands begin to shake so I stilled them. “Ezra, that was just what I needed. Lie down with me?”

He slid next to me as close as he could get and I reached a long arm over to the side table for the cloth I kept there. Cleaning us both up took only a moment then I pulled the covers up higher so he didn’t get a chill.

“I love how warm you are, Josiah. And you taste good too. Why didn’t you get soft when you came?” The shy question had me hunting for a good lie but when I looked in his eyes, I knew I couldn’t do it.

“I’ve been wanting you for a long time, Ezra. My body has been saving itself for you and right now it wants more. But it will eventually go down, so don’t you worry about it.” I kissed him gently and tasted myself on his sweet mouth. His lips parted and a shy tongue licked at me while I trembled with the need to bury myself in him.

He pulled away and looked at me. “I’m not sure what else men can do but I want to do more tonight. Even though I am a little tired.”

I thought quickly and chose something that might satisfy both of us without any undo exertion on his part. “All right but I want you to let me move us both. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He nodded eagerly and I stole another kiss before turning him onto his side so I could spoon behind him. He trembled a little when my cock brushed against his cleft and I told myself to be good or expect a nice cold wash cloth instead. “Part your legs so he can come between them. That’s right, now close them around him and he’ll think he’s in heaven.”

“Oh, that feels odd but good.” He put down his hand to stroke me and I felt myself harden just a little bit more.

“Now rock with me while I do a little moving to get him excited.” I began to thrust in and out between his thighs while his cock tried to decide if he wanted to come back to life or not. “That’s it, Ezra. Go ahead and touch him if you want to. He likes everything you do.”

He laughed and gripped me tighter than he had before, gaining confidence with every stroke. I started kissing his shoulder then moved up to his ear to bite it gently. He shivered before wiggling around me in a way that almost brought me release right then and there. Twisting just a little, he mutely asked me for another kiss and I gave him a flurry of them, all over his beautiful face.

It wasn’t long after that I came again and he took the opportunity to taste more of me. That is a sight that will never pall. I cleaned us both up again and checked his temperature before blowing out the lamp and taking him back into my arms.

“Love you, Josiah.” He yawned against my shoulder and I laid a kiss on top of that soft hair of his.

“I love you, too, Ezra. Now go to sleep for me.” I cradled him against my chest.

“Want to touch you some more tomorrow. And taste you, too.” His voice was getting fainter and fainter.

“Then that’s what we’ll do, Ezra. Sweet dreams, beloved.” I rocked him gently and felt him go to sleep right then.

“And Lord, thank you for saving Ezra and letting me love him.” I raised my eyes to the heavens and wondered if angelic hosts were singing or if it was just Ezra’s breath against my skin. “And Lord, keep him safe even if it’s not for me.” And I remembered verse two of the Song of Solomon, murmuring it against his temple. “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love is better than wine.”

And in the silence, I heard Ezra murmur my name. Holding him tight, I closed my eyes and rejoiced myself to sleep.

*******************


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra continues to heal.

Ezra  
*************** 

I awoke as I had for the last six mornings. Except for one thing, I was alone and that hadn’t happened since I’d first gotten sick. Sitting up, I started to get out of bed to go and find Josiah but the door opened before I could reach my robe. “Young man, back into bed with you. I was just checking to make sure none of the windows were open.”

And that’s when I heard the rain pounding on the wooden shingles above us. I have always loved storms especially when I didn’t have to go outside. Going to the window, I watched the rain come slashing down, gathering in large puddles outside the walls of the church. 

“I love the rain and the thunder and lightning.” I turned to find Josiah right behind me. I slid my arms around him and took a deep breath of my lover. He’d only put his pants on to go and check the church so I immediately teased my cheek on the salt and pepper gray hair on his chest. Rubbing my head against him, I spied my favorite nipple above his heart and kissed it.

“I must admit that while not that enamored of storms, this one is giving me a different perspective on things.” He chuckled and swung me up in his strong arms, making my stomach flutter.

I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him at once, feasting on his full lips and begging entrance to his tasty mouth. He tasted of tea and I pulled far enough away to pout at him. “You already had your tea.”

“That’s because I put the kettle on before I went around and checked all the windows. And once you are back in bed, I shall bring in your breakfast tray.” He carried me to bed and gently laid me into our little nest. “And Vin left off a surprise for us so stay warm for me and I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and let him go reluctantly. I had discovered that I liked being pampered by Josiah but then I liked to pamper him too. Only he hadn’t let me do much while I was healing after my operation. Checking my side, I saw the incision was still nice and closed. Nathan had taken out the stitches the day before and it had ached for the first time since the operation.

Then again, that might have been the approaching storm. I had noticed that Josiah’s knee was bothering him a little. I had asked Nathan about what I could do to help ease his pain. He’d chuckled and given me some liniment that smelled of lemon verbena to rub on his knee. He’d leaned a little closer and murmured that it could be used anywhere that soothing was required.

I’d blushed crimson and he nodded as if I’d answered a question for him. When I taxed Josiah with his reaction, the big man had blushed himself and admitted that Nathan had known how much he loved me. I was glad I hadn’t known about it or I’d have been frightened of him. But it was nice to know that our healer approved of Josiah and me.

Just then Josiah nudged the door open with his elbow and carried in a heavy tray filled with all kinds of goodies. I grabbed and stuffed all the pillows behind me so I could sit upright. He laid the tray by my side and went back to close the door, locking it with a little click.

The coal stove had heated the room so warmly that we really didn’t need the covers at all. I pushed them down to the bottom and patted the bed when Josiah turned around. “Take off your pants first, Josiah. You’ll not be needing them.”

He chuckled and began to unfasten them. “Are we not getting out of bed today, Ezra?”

“No, since you took patrol last night, you need your sleep. And I need you to snuggle me really close so I can feel all of you with all of me.” I watched the worn material slide down his legs and almost held my breath at the beautiful sight. He just laughed when I told him how beautiful he was.

He couldn’t see it but then I couldn’t see my beauty either. Oh, I knew that some people liked my green eyes and curly hair but that was just superficial. That’s not how Josiah saw me at all. When he touched me, I felt beautiful. And we’d spent an awful lot of time touching each other. The only time we weren’t was when he had patrol or one of the others was here visiting.

At least they knock first, now.

I don’t think that JD will ever quit blushing when he sees us. I really hope that Buck was able to explain what we were doing. Josiah had just introduced me to the joys of fucking and I still hadn’t quite satiated my need for him. There was nothing like his heat and I was worried that I would make him sore.

“What’s wrong, little love?” His finger smoothed out the line between my eyes and I blushed at the endearment he’d begun to use.

“Are you sure that you’re not sore, Josiah? I was kind of wild right before you left.”

He chuckled and poured me a cup of tea. “I like you wild, Ezra. It reminded me of how much you love me every time I had to bend over to check a door.”

“Then, um, will you come inside of me now?” I thought I might be ready since I’d grown use to his size. He liked coming between my legs and I’d even sucked on him like he did to me.

“Ezra, it’s still too soon for you. You need to stretch more so I don’t hurt you.” He stroked my leg and fed me a slice of apple that Vin must have brought.

I took it from his fingers and thought about the last time that he’d slid a slick finger inside of me and stroked the gland that he said all men had. The heat was wonderful and when he took my organ into his mouth and sucked hard, I’d come at once. “Then I want you to stretch me some more with that liniment that Nathan left. But first I want to rub your knee with it. You’re limping.”

“You take good care of me, little love. I could use some of your magic touch.” He admitted that as if it were a sin.

“Silly Josiah, I like making you feel good.” I leaned over the tray and kissed him. “Feed me while I rub your knee.”

He chuckled and handed me the bottle of liniment before feeding me a morsel of fresh baked bread. That tasted wonderful and I nipped his fingers while getting my hands nice and slick. He sat back on the bed while I straddled his legs and began to stroke his right knee. I could feel him relax all over when I started and I kept my touch light at first before working my way up to the deep massage that made him groan.

I loved making him groan. In fact, I loved everything about him and I would as long as I lived. I had wondered before why he liked to talk to me but just accepted it as one of his many gifts. He’s the most empathic person I’d ever met. He feels things so deeply that his wounds are correspondingly deep. His father hurt him badly when he was a child and I think sometimes events happen that remind him of some of those bad times.

He feels very alone then but I knew that I had lightened the darkness for him the same way that he had lightened my pain. Together we were stronger than we were when separate. I just hadn’t quite convinced him of that. He’s twelve years older than I am and I know that bothered him. And he thinks he’s too ugly and too big and a dozen other ‘too’s that he hasn’t mentioned yet.

But I had a secret weapon and that was going to make the difference. I loved him more than anyone in the world and I would never let him go, especially if it was for something as silly as my own good.

“Josiah, how does it feel now?” I ate another slice of apple and watched him flex it a little.  
“You’ve got the magic touch, little love. I could go dancing.” He grinned at me and fed me some more bread. “Your tea is getting cold.”

So, I carefully picked up a cup with my slippery hands and eyed him carefully. “Josiah?”

“Oh dear, I know that tone of voice. What do you have in mind?” He groaned but I noticed he sat up to be closer to me.

“Oh, nothing.” I finished my tea and set the cup down, grabbing his half-hard cock with both hands. “Something else needs massaging, I think.”

He groaned and fell back onto the bed. “Ezra P. Standish, you are without a doubt the most wonderful man in the world. I told you that my cock was yours. Do with it what you will.”

“Then stretch me some more, Josiah.” I handed him the liniment and set the tray aside so we didn’t spill anything before going back to straddling his stomach and sliding his cock through my hands.

He chuckled but I heard the bottle being opened and soon he was sliding a single finger inside of me. It reached that gland that he’d told me about and I flushed all over. But then I felt a little burn and I knew he had two in. I held onto his cock and tried to decide if I liked it.

“Any pain, Ezra?” Josiah stopped moving his fingers and I felt his other hand stroking over my nether cheeks.

“No, it just feels really full and it burns a little. Keep stretching me.” I went back to stroking his cock and leaned over to suck the crown into my mouth. I hadn’t figured out how to get all of him in my mouth the way he did to me. He told me he’d learned it in India from a disciple of Krishna.

I didn’t want to have to go that far to learn how to bring him the most pleasure. So I just kept practicing. Mother always said that ‘practice makes perfect’. But that brought up a thought that I’d had once before. Letting him go for a moment, I twisted around to see him.

“Josiah, are you still enamored of my mother?”

“What?” He almost shouted. “Good heavens, no! What made you think of that?”

I smiled at him. “Good. I’d hate to have to never see her again. Because I’m never sharing you with anybody.”

“Oh,” he shook his head. “Well, I’m glad that’s settled.”

It was my turn to chuckle around his now iron hard cock. I liked keeping him guessing just a little. I didn’t want him to get bored. I certainly wasn’t. He was scissoring his fingers back and forth inside of me and I was getting very warm. His other hand gloved my cock while his thumb tickled my balls until I had the urge to come. But I wasn’t ready yet so I took a deep breath then another and the urge went away.

He groaned when I lapped at his slit and sucked down the single tear from him. “Ezra, you’re getting very good at that. But could we change position for a while?”

Afraid that I’d hurt his knee, I agreed at once, letting go of him reluctantly. But he just moved me to the side so we each had a tasty cock in front of us. That was better and I went back to sucking on his crown before nibbling my way around the edges. He groaned again and I checked to make sure that it was a good groan. His hips were starting that little thrust that told me I was doing something right and he was getting close.

I liked tasting him so I slid one of my still slick fingers behind his balls and into the tight, hot place I loved. He groaned again and I knew I’d found the little bump that gave him pleasure. But he was fingering me too and it became a race to see which of us would come first. He won or maybe I won since I got all his tasty seed to drink down. I’ve always been fond of things like sour pickles and pickled okra so his bitter, almost briny taste was just fine with me.

But then he was sucking harder on me and I clung to his legs before releasing into his mouth. We both rested for a long moment before scooting around so we had lips to kiss instead of cocks. We tasted good together. Josiah reached a long arm for the tray and brought it back to my lap. The tea cozy had kept the pot warm so we both had another cup of tea while we listened to the rain.

I’ve never felt so safe before and I cuddled as close to him as I could get, wishing I could just crawl into his skin and stay there forever. He kissed my temple and I felt so loved that I wanted to cry. I sniffed a little and he pulled me into his lap and began to rock me slowly as if he knew what I was thinking and feeling.

I found his nipple and suckled on it while my hand stroked the other one. He had told me that when I did that he felt so well loved that he wanted to shout it to the world. It just made me feel safe and warm. I think I may have dozed a little because I was missing my support when I next awoke.

But he came back in before I could get worried. He was bringing in the tin tub that fit him and I sat up in anticipation of a bath. I loved seeing him wet. “Josiah, what a wonderful idea. Who gets first turn?”

“Well, we could play a hand of cards for it but I think I’ll just let you go first so I can play with your tempting body and the soap.” He winked at me and I hurried out of bed to join him. He’d filled it not quite halfway with room temperature water and I poured in the big teakettle full that always sat on the coal stove in our bedroom. He took it from me with a kiss and went to refill it. It was only tepid so I waited for him to bring in the other kettle from the meeting room stove. That usually gave us just enough for bathing.

I got the bar of lavender soap that Gloria ordered especially for me and put it near the tub before moving to the cupboard that held linens for the bath and our bed. I liked thinking about ‘our’ things. The others had brought almost everything of mine over here and I like seeing his things and mine in the same dresser. In his spare time, he was building an armoire to hold the rest of my clothes but for now they were in a box by our bed.

Our bed. That sounded very, very nice.

He was back with both kettles and I took the cool one from him to sit on the stove so it would heat. The other one was steaming as it went into the tub and I shivered at the thought of how good it would feel. But he thought I was cold and he hurriedly tested it first before urging me into the hot water. I sank into it and sighed happily.

“Josiah, there is no such thing as too many baths.” I sat up and reached for the soap but he took it from me with a chuckle.

“Now, now, none of that, young man. It’s my turn to wash you.” And lathering the soap, he began to scrub my back while I moaned my enjoyment. “I have never met anyone who likes being touch as much as you do, Ezra. And I’m the lucky man who gets to touch you.”

“I like touching you too, Josiah so I guess it’s a good thing we love each other. Oh, there. That feels so good.”

He scratched lightly ‘there’ and I felt like purring. He’d called me a cat often enough I guess I was growing into one. But most cats I knew didn’t like to get wet and I surely did. He pulled one of my legs out and washed it right down to my toes. Once they were rinsed he loved every single one of them with his tongue, leaving me hard as a rock again. Then he repeated it with the other leg and I almost came just from that. But he washed the rest of me before having me stand so he could suck my cock into his mouth and make me come.

I would have fallen if he hadn’t caught me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. I was so limp that I couldn’t have bathed him right then if I’d tried. He chuckled and tucked me in before heading over to the tub. He washed himself all over and I revived enough to come back and scrub his back for him. Washing makes him hard too so I dried him off and led him back to bed.

I sat him down on the bed and picked up the liniment bottle with a determined look on my face. He held out his hands meekly and I made sure that his fingers was really slick before I popped the cork back in and set it aside. Then I kissed him hard and straddled his legs right over that big cock of his. He shivered but I knew he wasn’t cold. He was just thinking about being inside of me. And that made me shiver, too.

I ached for him but I didn’t know how to tell him that. Two fingers slid inside of me and he scissored them while plunging them as deep inside as they could go. The warmth was even better than it had been before and I sucked on his tongue while I rocked up and down on his fingers.

We finally had to breathe and he looked real serious at me. “Ezra, are you sure you want this? It’s going to hurt the first time no matter how careful I am. I can’t bear to hurt you.”

“I’m sure that I love you more than anyone in the world. I’m sure that I want to be with you until the day I die. I want to live with you and help you build this church. I want to be the first person you see every morning and I want to sleep in your arms every night. I’m really sure that I want to be connected to you in every way possible.” I ran out of breath and he kissed me with tears in his eyes.

Finally, he rested his forehead against mine. “All right. But if there is pain like a tearing feeling or anything like that you will tell me. At once.”

I nodded solemnly and he kissed me again before upending me over his lap. I kept hold of his cock and pretty soon I had a death grip on it while he moved three fingers inside of me and I had to bite my tongue because of the pain. But it gradually decreased and the warmth came back until I could feel my cock start to harden again.

And that’s when he rolled me onto the bed with his fingers still inside of me and sucked my cock deep. I moaned and clung to his cock until I came and came and came. I must have passed out for a moment because when I came back, I was full. I mean really full and I realized that he was inside of me and spooned against my back.

“Josiah, you feel incredible.” There wasn’t really any pain but an ache deep inside of me.

“My God, Ezra, I’ve never felt anything like your heat. Is there any pain?” He kissed the back of my neck softly and I reached back for his hand.

“I love you, Josiah. I just feel full of you everywhere. Inside and outside, you’ve got all of me.” I brought his hand to my lips and kissed each finger for getting me ready for him. “Now, I think you better move so I can see what that feels like.”

“Your wish is my command, beloved.” His deep voice made me shiver and soon it was all I could do not to scream.

He moved slowly and surely out and back in, each time sparking my gland until I was on fire everywhere. His hand held my cock and I was hard again. One of his legs over mine kept me from moving and I had a brief thought about how another position might feel but soon all I could feel was him and the need to come mixed together in my mind. He faltered and I pushed back against him, feeling his seed burst from him to flood me with boiling liquid.

And with a shout, I came again too. We were both panting and I heard him say my name over and over as if in prayer. I hugged him tight around me and prayed that he’d stay inside of me forever.

“Beloved Ezra.” He began to rock again. “One of these days, beloved, I shall read you the entire Song of Solomon while we make love. But for now listen to the verses that named you thousands of years ago. ‘As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banquet house and his banner over me was love.’ Oh, my beloved.”

I would have cried but he’d finally slipped from me and was turning me so we could kiss. We kissed for long moments before having to breathe and I tucked my head under his chin so I could listen to his heartbeat. “I love you, Josiah. All my life I wanted just one person to love me back but no one ever did until you came. Hold me close and never let me go.”

“Never, Ezra, as long as there is breath in my body, you will never be without me.” He stroked my hair and rocked me slowly.

“Good, I will never leave you. I will always love you even when we’re very old.” I shut my eyes and hummed a lullaby that I remembered from my youth. His deep bass soon joined me and we hummed each other to sleep.

*******************


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The storms continue and so does Ezra's matchmaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italic quotes are from the Song of Solomon from the Old Testament Bible.

Josiah  
***************** 

I finished my patrol with a sigh of relief. All the warmth in the world was waiting for me back in the church and I could hardly wait to get back there. However, Chris was waiting for me at the jail and I saw that he had something on his mind. Sometimes it was difficult for him to speak about emotions and that was what I saw preying on him.

But I had someone waiting for me.

Still, it was my job to help my fellow man so I sat and patiently waited for Chris to speak. Ezra tells me that I can be very intimidating when I look at someone. Of course, he was tickling me into laughter at the time so I took that with a grain of salt.

“You and Ezra are happy?” 

I looked at him and wondered if we had a problem. “Ezra holds my heart in his hands and I trust him to keep it safe. Of course, I hold his, too.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s what I thought. How did you know that he was interested?”

I chuckled. “When he asked me if I loved him.”

Chris looked startled. “He asked you?”

“Ezra is in charge of our relationship, Chris and so far, he’s done an excellent job.”

“He is? But you’re the elder.”

I could see that he was having a real problem with that concept. “I may be older but when it comes to matters of the heart, Ezra has impeccable instincts. He knows what he needs from me and what I need from him. I love him with everything in me and he returns that love four-fold.”

“Oh,” was all he said while he bit his lip and went back to staring at the wall.

Impatience finally won out. Ezra said he’d have a hot bath waiting for me and if I didn’t get back there, he’d come looking for me. “Chris, is there someone that you have feelings for? Somebody you think might love you back?” He looked up startled and I sighed silently. Some people really needed work on their people skills. “I’m guessing that it’s Vin.”

“How did you know that?” He got up to pace and I hid a smile.

“You met and knew each other at once. Some souls are like that, Chris. When you get a chance at love, does it really matter whether it’s in a woman’s body or a man’s?”

“He’s been passed around all his life. And then there was Charlotte. Damn it, he’s my friend but . . .” he looked at me with his heart in his eyes. “I want more. I want him to be with me all the time not just once or twice a day.”

“Congratulations, my friend. You are definitely in love. Now all you have to do is tell him.” I watched him keep pacing. I didn’t think that would do it. He’s a complicated man and he’s very good at complicating his life. I sighed, that bath was looking further and further away.

The door to the jail flew open and Ezra stalked inside. “Josiah, you’re soaking wet. Why are you still here?”

I stood and he hugged me tightly. “Chris needed to talk, little love.”

“About Vin?” My green-eyed lover smiled at me and frowned at Chris. “When are you going to put him out of his misery, Mr. Larabee? I told him to just . . .”

The door flew open again and Vin appeared. “Ezra, damn it, I told you that I was coming over here.”

“He’s making Josiah stay here instead of coming home for his bath. I trust you’re going to talk to him.” Ezra told him sternly while taking my hand and leading me to the door. “JD said he’d be here within the hour. So talk fast and then head to the saloon to my old room. You’ll need the privacy. Come along, Josiah.” He glared at them. “If he catches cold I’m siccing Nathan on both of you.”

They looked suitably cowed and I meekly let Ezra lead me from the jail. It looked like Chris might just have his own lover to take care of him from now on. And I wasn’t worried about me catching cold but I was a little concerned that Ezra might have exposed himself to the elements. His coat wasn’t thick enough for this cold rain so I tucked him closer to me and drew my long duster around both of us.

“Silly Chris is about to meet his match.” He said with a cheerful grin and slid his arm around me. “I’m going to work on JD next. I want everybody to be as happy as I am.”

“Are you truly happy, little love?” I looked up and gauged the distance to the church.

“Very, very, very happy, Josiah. But I’ll be happier when we’re both warm and fed.” He loved and scolded me in the same breath.

I just chuckled and opened the church door. Luckily no one was there so I was able to sweep him up in my arms and carry him into our room. He chortled all the way and I was hard pressed to keep from kissing him right then and there. But he had plans and I soon found myself stripped to the skin and taking the first bath. He’d made tea too and it warmed my insides while he scrubbed my back. I had to admit that it all felt very good.

“When did you talk to Vin, little love?” I asked him while he lathered my chest hair. He really enjoys that.

“Hm-m. Oh, when I went over to get some supplies from Mrs. Potter, he was there getting a new handkerchief. So, I asked him to help me carry everything back and he did. That’s when I asked him when he was going to put Chris out of his misery and he almost dropped the jar of honey.” He kissed me sweetly and I thought I detected a bit of that honey there already.

“That means you went out twice?” I frowned but he just kept rinsing me off. 

“Of course, it does but neither of us has to go out again tonight and Mr. Brewster says that tomorrow will be sunny and fair. His knee tells the weather.” He winked at me and made sure my legs were well washed before rinsing me and urging me out of the tub. Briskly he rubbed me with the big towel that he’d had the Chinese laundry make out of two normal towels. 

I had to admit that I’d always found a ‘normal’ towel to be less than adequate. It was just one more thing that Ezra had invented or found to take care of me. He’d written away for a set of china cups with larger handles so I could actually get my fingers through them. And he’d noticed that I loved my honey so he’d found a supplier who had several different kinds for us to try.

When I remonstrated with him for spending his money on me, he simply sat in my lap and told me that he’d rather make my life easier so I had more time to take care of him. There was something wrong with that logic but I was damned if I could think what, especially when he began kissing me.

I tend to loose all memory of what I was saying or thinking when he does that.

“Josiah, where are you?” His curious voice came from my feet where he was rubbing liniment into them while I sat on the bed with no memory of how I got there.

“Why I’m right here, little love, getting the best foot massage that I’ve ever had in my life.” I stroked his hair and felt him purr. “Why my feet?”

“Because that’s where sickness can start, Nathan said so.” He finished my right foot and began on the left. “So, if you take care of your head and your feet, then the rest of you will stay well. Your hat protected the top but your left boot has a problem with the sole and that’s why that foot got wet. I don’t ever want you to get sick, Josiah.”

I noticed the sniff and wondered who in his life had gotten so sick that he was so determined to protect me. “Ezra, did someone you love get sick and leave you?”

Those bright green eyes were swimming in tears when they raised to mine. He nodded and looked down again. “Mother left me with relatives a lot. One of them was my Great Aunt Hepzibah. She told Mother I’d be a great help to her. As soon as Mother left, Aunt Hepzibah sat me down and told me that she had all the help she needed but what she really wanted was someone to bring laughter back into her home. That was my job and she wanted me to have fun everyday and make sure that some of it came back with me.”

I couldn’t stand it any longer. Pulling him up into my lap, I cuddled him as close as I could. “She sounds wonderful, Ezra. I’ll bet you made her laugh every single day.”

He nodded and shivered a little. “I loved her, Josiah. I was only eight but I knew that she loved me.”

“Of course, she did, little love. When you love someone with all your heart, they just have to love you, too.” I picked him up and carried him to the tub. “Now, let me wash you and then you can tell me the rest of the story.”

He sniffed again and I fished my handkerchief from my jeans on the floor. He thanked me and blew his nose hard before laying it aside and letting me wash him. It wasn’t the time for play so I made sure he was warmed up and clean before helping him out and drying him. Then we went back to bed with the tea tray and I cradled him close under the warm blankets.

“I was with her for almost a whole year, Josiah. She was so much fun and she had almost as many stories inside of her as you do. But the weather turned cool and rainy and she went out to church anyway. When she came home she was wet and chilled. Nana warmed her up and gave her a shot of whiskey and honey while I ran errands. But the next day, Aunt Hepzibah had a fever. Then the doctor came and bled her of the bad blood. But she didn’t get better and two days later she was dead.” He curled up against me and cried as if it had just happened.

“Little love, I ‘m so sorry that she left you.” I held him close and scattered kisses over his beautiful face. “She loved you so much that you gave her probably the best year she’d ever had in a long full life. Storytellers are only really alive when they have someone to tell their stories to. You gave her such a treat.”

He sniffed and pulled a handkerchief from under the pillow, blowing his nose again and balling it up in his hand. “I loved her stories and I loved her. It was such a long time before someone loved me again. That’s why I won’t let anything happen to you, Josiah. Never, ever let anything bad happen to you.”

I was speechless at his declaration. Tucking his head under my chin, I tried to come to grips with the fact that he truly believed that no one had loved him except for two people, his Aunt and me. Clearing my voice, I reminded him that we were not alone now. “Ezra, we’re part of a family now and I don’t think there’s a single one of us who doesn’t love you just the way you are. I’m just the lucky one that you love back.”

He chuckled. “Silly Josiah, friends and lovers are two different things entirely. But I know what you mean about family. We are one, aren’t we? I like that thought. I love you though, more than anyone in the world. Aunt Hepzibah would have loved you, too. I hope she knows that you love me.”

“I expect, little love, that the guardian angel who saved you from that bank robber was your Great Aunt just looking out after her favorite nephew. And who knows but that she sent you this way so the two of us could meet.” I kissed his temple and he lifted his head to reach my lips.

Never will I tire of kissing him. He is honey and spice and everything that tastes of love to me. Perhaps we both had guardian angels who steered us to each other. If so, I was the most grateful man in the world that we’d finally met. Finally we had to breathe and he made me finish my tea and eat more bread covered with honey and cinnamon. That odd combination tasted quite good and we shared the last slice in alternate bites until it was gone.

Setting the tea tray aside, I gathered him close and kissed him slowly but thoroughly until we had to breathe. “Ezra, would you please make love to me?”

He smiled slowly and stroked his hand down my cheek. “I never stop making love to you, Josiah. Every thought of every moment of every day that I have is spent in loving everything about you. Your gentleness and caring, your strength and power, even your truly horrible singing voice, all tell me that we’re making love always.”

“My truly horrible singing voice?” I smiled down at him and flexed my fingers over his ticklish stomach.

“When you’re reading aloud, you sound like an angel.” He hastened to reassure me. “But I think you should leave the hymn singing to Nathan.” 

“Well, if you think so, Ezra. Nathan does sound wonderful, doesn’t he?” I smoothed my fingers over his pretty nipples and watched them harden to pink peaks.

“Hm-m-m, Josiah, he’s very good but you have much the better speaking voice.” He stretched like a sleek cat and his eyes gazed into mine. “And I think that you’re right. I need to make love to you and make sure that you realize that you belong to me.” His hands pushed against my shoulders and I rolled onto my back while he swarmed over me. “I love you, Josiah.”

“And I love you, little love.” His kisses are more potent than wine and I found myself remembering more of the Song of Solomon. When those tormenting lips left mine to travel slowly down to my nipples, my hands stroked tenderly through the soft curls on his head. His purr was music to my ears.

“ _His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend_.” He hummed in appreciation so I continued. “ _How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples_.” 

Ezra chuckled and gave each nipple one last lick before moving down to my navel.

“ _Thy navel is a like a round goblet which wanteth not liquor_.”

He tickled me until I had to laugh and he joined in before swooping down on my cock like it was his favorite treat. It was getting harder to concentrate but I persevered.

“ _The roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. I am my beloved’s and his desire is toward me_.” I said those lines triumphantly and he hummed around me until I thought I might have to release.

But he left my cock reluctantly and held out his hand for the bottle of liniment that was sitting on the table beside my head. Opening it, I poured some onto his close held fingers and he smiled that beautiful smile that told me I was in for a long session of lovemaking. Putting the bottle back, I rolled over onto my stomach and prepared to be teased. But he simply stroked me tenderly for long moments until I felt one of those elegant fingers breach my entrance and slide the liniment deep inside of me.

“ _My beloved is gone down into his garden, the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he feedeth among the lilies_.”

I felt the slight burn of three fingers then the welcome feel of his cock sliding in and taking me gently. He kissed my back and stroked my sides tenderly until he was sure that I was comfortable. Then he began to move, slowly at first but with increasing power behind each stroke. He helped me up onto my knees so I was on all fours and finally able to push back for more of him while his hands held my hips steady for him.

“Oh God, Josiah, I love you.” Ezra was panting now and I was too. “And I most definitely love,” he impaled me on his cock and I felt the first scalding drops of his seed deep inside of me, “this.”

One of his hands was pressing the nerve at the base of my cock and my own urge to come was barely averted. Flooding me with his heat, Ezra sighed and rested on my back for a moment. I held him up and wondered what else he had in store for me. Whatever it was, I’d enjoy it.

“Dearest . . . beloved Josiah.” He sighed my name and I felt the lonely ache deep in my heart disappear completely. “I want you to come inside of me.”

And my cock jumped in response. 

Chuckling, he gently eased out of me and used a corner of the sheet to catch the dribbles before rolling me onto my back. “How’s your knee, Josiah? I forgot about it earlier.”

I couldn’t stand the worried look on his face and I grasped his hands to bring them to my lips. “You didn’t hurt me, Ezra. All your massages have my knee feeling wonderful. One of these days we shall dance together and you’ll see how much better I am.”

“Good. Mother made sure that I learned to dance at a very early age.” His hands were slowly sliding the liniment onto my cock, which was twitching with impatience. “Now just stay there for me.” And he straddled my hips before leaning in to kiss me. 

And again, I succumbed to the sweetness that was my Ezra. 

In fact, I was so intent on kissing him that I almost missed the moment when he angled himself and forced the crown of my cock past his entrance muscles. That stimulus alone almost made me climax but I was worried that he hadn’t prepared himself so I broke our kiss to ask.

But he beat me to it with an impish smile. “I spread some inside of me before I left to find you and while I was getting you ready for me, I put some more in. It’s a good thing I’m limber.”

“Dear heaven, yes.” I watched him in amazement while he squirmed a little and slowly but surely sat down on me. “How does it feel, beloved? Too much?”

He was panting a little and I could feel little flexes around me that had me biting my lip. “You feel even bigger than normal, Josiah. I feel like I’m impaled on a tree trunk.” That image made me jerk inside of him and he chuckled. “I can feel your heartbeat through your . . . mighty . . . shaft.” Each word was punctuated with a squeeze of his inner muscles.

My beloved is a master of the spoken word and I’ll be the first to admit, the master of my heart. Whether he’s inside of me or I’m inside of him, he is in charge of my heart and soul and body.

“I love you, Ezra.” Never had I meant it more.

“I love you too, Josiah. We’re so very lucky that we found each other. I’m sorry that you had to wait so long for me.” He began to rock up and down a little, a look of bliss on that beautiful face.

“The long wait was worth every second of time.” I forced myself to let him keep control although my cock was demanding more. “And every moment that we’re together is a blessing straight from God.”

He smiled down at me and began to move more vigorously. “A blessing indeed. Now, I want you to give me all of your strength, Josiah. Don’t hold back.”

And I thrust up while he was coming down. We both groaned as I felt his channel walls squeeze around me and his hot spot was massaged by my cock. I’d been on the edge for so long that this time was going to be fast. But Ezra’s cock had returned to life and I not-so-gently stroked him while he writhed on top of me. His panting was music to my ears and when I felt myself begin to pulse, I squeezed his cock right into release.

He fell forward onto my chest and I raised too heavy arms to hold him close. We were both breathing deeply and I could feel my cock begin to shrink. I was more content than I’d ever been in my entire life. Our cozy room was a haven from the rain that I could hear dancing on the roof. I was a lucky man to have such an abundance of warmth and pleasure so late in my life.

“Josiah, don’t ever let me go.” He murmured against my throat, kissing me just over the pulse that he liked to listen to.

“Never, beloved, I’ll never stop loving you and holding you close.” I kissed the top of his head and breathed in the warm, spicy scent of his soft hair.

“I won’t let you go either, Josiah. And I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.” He raised his head and looked at me with tear filled eyes. “I love you more each day.”

“Now, isn’t that a nice coincidence, Ezra? I love you more today than I did yesterday.” I smiled at him and watched his eyes begin to sparkle. “Even if you are matchmaking among our friends.”

“I wonder what Chris and Vin are doing right now?” His grin was naughty to say the least and I thought about what the two men might be doing.

“If they’re very lucky, little love, then they are resting just like this. Safe and warm and loved.” I told him.

“Yes,” his smile turned tender. “Warm and loved. I hope all of us are feeling that right now, although I need to work on JD. Buck is too afraid to even try to seduce him. But JD is pining for him and we’re going to have to think of something to bring them together.”

“We?” I groaned at the loss of his heat, slipping free of his body. 

He was biting his lip and I rolled him over so I could check to make sure that I hadn’t hurt him. Other than a little reddened, he was fine and I grabbed the edge of the sheet to perform some quick cleanup. Then he was back in my arms, snuggling close.

“We, Josiah. I think they’re more like us than Chris and Vin are. There’s the same twelve year gap between them and Buck’s more worldly like you while JD is probably as innocent in the ways of love as I was.” He licked under my chin and I chuckled, moving so I could kiss him.

When we parted, I gazed into laughing emerald eyes. “Then JD will have to seduce him because Buck never will. JD was pretty shocked when he opened the door and saw you inside of me.”

“But intrigued, Josiah. He finally broke down and asked me what it was like to love a man instead of a woman. So, I told him how wonderful it was.” His smile was just a little smug. “So, you’re the one who needs to work on Buck, tell him how lonely JD is and how much he aches to be held by someone who loves him.”

I knew that ache well and so did my Ezra. “I’ll see what I can do, little love. I wish everyone could feel how good it is to love and be loved.”

“We’ll just keep showing people how nice it is until we’ve converted everyone over to love instead of hate.” He nodded solemnly and I just had to kiss him again.

If only the world could make love instead of war, I thought wistfully while I cuddled Ezra close and feasted on his lips. The world would be a much nicer place and happiness would replace fear in men’s lives. Ezra had the right idea. Start with one person then two, until you had brightened the whole town into love.

We’d have to start on that tomorrow, I decided while kissing my way down Ezra’s elegant throat to his tasty nipples. But not now, now was for making love with the man who held my heart and my future in his caring hands while the rain fell all around us.

‘ _Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. For this is my beloved_.’ 

*******************


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra keeps matchmaking and Josiah gets loved.

Ezra   
***************** 

It was a beautiful day. The rain stopped, the mud dried up and people began to venture out to see what had been going on while the torrential rain kept them inside. Josiah and Buck had ridden out to the Hales to check on Grandmother Hale. She was only 70 but the summer had brought a sickness that lingered.

I missed Josiah but I thought that now would be a good time to have a talk with JD. I walked down the boardwalks and tipped my hat to the ladies I met. Several stopped me asking after my health and I assured them that the operation had been a complete success. The rain had pushed back my regaining of strength, I told them and they patted my arm and wished me well. 

Four Corners was a good place to live, I decided with a smile. Of course, anywhere that Josiah was would be my favorite place. After so many years of moving from town to town, never feeling a part of a place or a family, I had finally found a home and a family. Outside of the jail, I checked the time. JD should be getting back from his rounds any moment now.

Opening the door, I went in and made a beeline to the desk and the stack of ‘Wanted’ posters. We all tried to keep up with who had done what and where but it seemed that bad guys were springing up all over. I sat across from JD’s chair and was half way through the pile when the door opened and JD came in. 

“Hi, Ezra, you must be feeling better.” He smiled at me and I returned it with interest.

“It’s been almost a week since I checked on these so I thought I’d better get caught up. Josiah’s away and it’s lonely at the church without him.” I watched him from the corner of my eye and saw him nod sadly. “How are you, JD?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Can’t complain.” He said wearily and sat down behind the desk.

“You don’t look fine. You look sad.” I said simply and he blushed. 

“Nope, Ezra, I’m not sad. I’m just my normal, boring self.” 

The note of bitterness surprised me but it shouldn’t have. Our sheriff is more sensitive than the others give him credit for. “You’re not boring, JD. But I know what would make you feel better.” 

He looked up at me in surprise. “What?” 

“What do you say we go over to the saloon for lunch and then go skinny dipping at Swan Pond?” I smiled at him, remembering what fun Josiah and I had had a week ago in between the raindrops. 

“You glow all over when you think of Josiah.” He sounded so sad. 

“Josiah is the most wonderful person in my world, JD. He loved me, all of me when no one else would.” Just thinking about my lover made me happy. Maybe I really did glow. “Who makes you feel that good?” 

He sighed and idly rearranged the wanted posters. “You know all ready, don’t you? Buck is the only one I want. I never knew that two men could love each other like that, not until you and Josiah.” He looked at me with such sad eyes that I wanted to hug him close the way that Josiah did for me when I was melancholy. 

“Then we’re just going to have to make him see what he’s missing.” I stood up determinedly. “And that starts with lunch while I fill you in on what an older man needs. Are you ready to go after him?”

JD bit his lip. “What if he’s disgusted by me? What if he really only likes women?” 

“Nonsense, JD, he loves you but he’s afraid of hurting you.” I paused. “You do know that sometimes it hurts when a bigger man comes inside of a smaller one?” 

He blushed beet-red and had to clear his throat. “Like when I saw you with your . . . um, your privates inside of Josiah?” 

“Exactly, JD. My cock’s smaller than Josiah’s, did you see his?” I asked curiously and he just nodded at my language while his ears turned bright red. “There was some pain when he first came inside of me but now it just feels really, really good. Have you ever seen Buck’s cock?” 

He shook his head and cleared his throat again. “Um . . . actually, my . . . my cock is more like Josiah’s than . . . than yours.”

My eyebrow went up and I thought about that. “Really? Buck may be in for a surprise in more ways than one. He’s been hurt in the past, JD. You need to be sure that you want to be with him forever, the way that I know Josiah and I will be together.” 

His smile was brilliantly bright. “I want him for always, Ezra. I just don’t know how to go any further.” 

“I think you’re going to have to be the one who tells him, the way that I told Josiah.” I stood up and shooed him out the door ahead of me. On the walk to the saloon, I told him about my question and Josiah’s answer. During lunch I filled him in on what I saw when I looked at Buck. His insecurities were many but he masked them with smiles and laughter so no one saw them. 

JD nodded slowly when he thought about it and he realized what he’d missed. He was more intelligent than some of the others thought. We talked back and forth until I could see resolution fill his face the way it had mine. And that meant that we needed to ride out to Swan Pond. I’d already told Josiah to meet us there when they left the Hales. I was betting that we’d get there first. 

Taking two bottles of wine with us, I looped the bag around my pommel while JD took the padded box that held the four wineglasses. Inez packed my saddlebags full of food for nibbling after our swim. We were ready. The ride was only half an hour and we had soon hobbled our horses in the pine grove that sheltered the pond. It was one of my favorite places to come and the swimming had helped me regain the muscles that I’d lost to the operation and the recovering time.

Although, I did think that making love was a wonderful exercise in and of itself. Grinning to myself, I arranged the blanket near the water but not too near. Splashing just might occur and make a mess of our impromptu picnic, I thought with a feeling of great anticipation. Undressing took only a few moments and JD watched me wide-eyed for a moment before taking a deep breath and stripping out of his own clothes. 

He was right. JD really was almost as big as Josiah was. I walked into the cool water and chuckled to myself at the surprise awaiting the tall Lotherio. I could hardly wait for them to come. The sun’s position showed me that they should be here shortly and I wanted JD nice and relaxed. So I enticed him to swim with me back and forth across the six-acre pond until our muscles began to burn. 

I heard horses at the same moment that we returned to the shore near our blanket. Standing waist deep in the clear, cool water, my eyes went immediately to Josiah and I grinned at the lustful look on his face. Casting a quick look at Buck, I saw a fleeting glimpse of pain. The sooner I got the two of them together, the sooner they’d both feel better. 

“Josiah, come swim with us.” I commanded and watched him dismount quickly. “Buck, you look hot. Hobble your horses and join us.” I dropped my voice and got JD’s attention. “Let’s swim away to give them privacy. We have to tempt them in or this won’t work.”   
Well, Josiah didn’t have to be tempted but I liked teasing him and he’d understand. 

We swam away and I could already hear Josiah telling Buck that this was just what they needed after their long ride. I smiled to myself and thought about our first kiss after having been apart for almost seven hours. Reunion kisses were fun because we’d try to figure out what the other one had had to eat or drink. I could hardly wait. 

A series of splashes sent me turning back to the shore with JD close behind me. Josiah had just dunked himself completely and his blue eyes smiled at me while he waited with outstretched arms. I swam right into them and he caught me close, his lips finding mine with unerring precision. 

Heat . . . ginger . . . chamomile . . . something that was just Josiah. Our bodies surged together and I wrapped my legs around his waist while my arms slid around his neck to get us even closer. But finally we had to breathe and our lips parted. “Mrs. Hale made gingerbread.” 

“And you had roast chicken with those sweet onions and green beans.” He smiled at me and I nodded triumphantly. “I don’t suppose that you brought us a little something to nibble on?”

I tried to look affronted but he saw right through me and tickled me into laughter. “Yes, yes . . . Josiah stop that.” I turned my head and saw Buck and JD just standing there looking at each other, waist deep in water. “JD, ask him your question.” 

He started and darted a quick look at us, seeming to draw courage from our close embrace. Then he looked back at Buck less than an arm’s length away. “Buck, do you love me?”

The tall man swallowed hard and I saw him shiver. “Always, JD.” 

JD’s eyes lit up and he closed the distance between them, sliding his arms around Buck’s waist and tilting his head up for their first kiss. Letting go of Josiah, I tugged him out towards deeper water. They needed some privacy and so did I. My lover was a strong swimmer and we were soon at the other side of the pond in the little bend that was hidden from the rest of the pond. 

A shelf of rock about a foot below the water surface gave us a nice place to sit. I swarmed back into his warm embrace and wrapped my legs around his waist again. Our cocks dueled for space between us and his lips parted so I could taste him again. His fingers traced the muscles in my back and I wiggled to get them closer to where I needed them. 

His chuckle told me that he knew what I was doing and finally one finger ghosted down my crease to the small hole that wanted him. I sighed and let my lips trail over his cheek to the spot under his ear that always made him quiver. I bathed it with my tongue while he finally teased that long blunt finger of his past my guardian muscle. 

***************   
Josiah   
*************** 

Ezra was squirming in my lap and that was almost enough to set me off, but he needed more and so did I. It seemed like days instead of hours since I’d held him and sinking a finger inside of him was just a small part of what I wanted to do to my teasing love. It looked like his matchmaking had paid off once again if Buck and JD’s embrace had meant what I thought it did.

“Little love, is everything all right?” I shivered at his tiny licks down my throat to the hollow. 

“Everything’s just fine, Josiah. But I need you inside of me, reminding me that you love me.” His breath against that sweet spot had me quivering while I managed to slide two fingers in to the place I craved. “More, Josiah, more.”

“More it is, little love.” I leaned in and kissed those sweet lips while squeezing in the third finger to relax him. He tasted of his luncheon and tea but I was delving for that deeper spice that was Ezra. Nothing satisfied my senses like the alluring taste of pure unadulterated lover. He gasped when my fingers went deep and almost bit my tongue. 

Tearing his lips away, he groaned. “Josiah, now, please now.” 

Removing my fingers, I positioned him over my shaft and slowly eased him down onto my thickness. He shivered from head to toe, all the while I sank into the hottest, tightest most astonishing place that I’d ever been in. Coming inside of him was like coming home and it still had the ability to surprise me that he wanted me.

“Josiah.” My name had never been a prayer before but that’s what I heard in his soft, southern voice. “I love you, my dearest . . . wonderful . . . marvelous . . . beloved.” 

“I love you, Ezra.” I breathed him in like the air I needed to live and kissed the water droplets from his beautiful face. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”

Those wide green eyes slowly opened and the look in them stunned me. Pure, shining love gazed out at me and I felt his hands cup my bristling face tenderly. “I’m the lucky one, Josiah. I looked for you everywhere but couldn’t find you. Thank you for being so patient.”

I held him close and touched my forehead to his. “I was looking for you too, Ezra. I was the loneliest man I knew until one summer day when I saw the most beautiful man in the world standing there on a dusty boardwalk.” 

“Someday, Josiah, I shall make you see the beautiful man that I see when ever I look at you.” So much love shone from those glistening eyes. “There is no soul on earth more beautiful than yours.”

I shrugged ruefully. I definitely didn’t see that. He shook me good-naturedly and clenched his inner muscles around me. “We’ll work on that self-image problem later. Right now, you need to fuck me really hard and remind me of how I can return the favor tonight in our nice soft bed.” 

The disingenuous look made me chuckle, which had been his intention. He knows me very well and I was more grateful for that than he could ever know. Or perhaps he already did? “Your wish is my command, little love.” 

“Oh good,” his eyes lit up and he wiggled around me until I just had to move. 

The water buoyancy made things a little different but the drag of the water actually added to the slow rhythm that we soon established. Thrusting into his tight depths, I felt him flex around me in little ripples that mimicked the water around us. My eyes wanted to close but that would have denied me my chance to see him turn into the green-eyed water sprite that had enchanted me. 

And his eyes were at the hooded stage, the one where the world disappeared except for him and me. No sound existed here but his moans; his clean scent was in the air that surrounded us; nothing touched me but his body; his lips were all I could taste; his eyes held mine with a fever that burned into my soul. I saw his mouth say my name and I exploded in a heartbeat into his welcoming depths.

All I could do was breathe in and out. The rest of the world slowly returned to my senses and I felt the hard rock beneath me, holding my trembling limbs safe from sinking into the depths of the pond. Ezra’s hands were slowly stroking my neck while his voice chanted my name over and over again. I was still inside of him but softening. I never wanted to move again. 

“Beloved Josiah,” his voice was like honey, flowing into me and filling up all the lonely spaces that sometimes reappeared when we’d been apart for so long. “I love you so much that I think that I shall have to make love to you for a very long time tonight.”

I found a chuckle deep within me and opened my eyes to see the calm look that he sometimes wore when he’d figured out what an opposing player had in his poker hand. “You’ve tired me out, little love. I’ll just have to lie there and let you do whatever you want to me.” 

A sparkle appeared in that bright gaze and he kissed me softly. “You’re always trying to help me out, Josiah. I may have to tie you to the posts so I can do wicked things to you.” 

Odd, I thought I was done for the day. I swallowed hard and felt my cock try to come back to life but only slipped from him instead. His chuckle told me that he’d felt that and I blushed. “Wicked things aren’t something that you should know about, young man.” 

His smile was so innocent that it would have fooled a nun but it didn’t fool me. “Now, Josiah, you’re always telling me stories about your journeys. I wrote away for a very interesting travel book and it came a few days ago. I’ve been reading it while you were on patrol and there are some very wicked practices that they talk about.” 

What in the world was he talking about? I frowned at him and he laughed out loud. “Ezra P. Standish, are you going to tell me the title of this book that’s giving you such ideas?” 

He pushed out of my arms and began to swim away from me, sending me a flirtatious look over his shoulder. “I’ll show it to you later, Josiah. I think you’ll like the pictures. They’re very educational.”

Pictures? I swam after him but it was like trying to catch a sleek river otter and he reached the shore ahead of me. Seeing the other two brought me up short although they were reclining on the blanket in a languid haze that told me they’d had something like the shattering love bout that we’d just had.

Ezra was completely unconcerned about his nakedness and I realized, not for the first time, that he and Buck shared that in common. They were both comfortable within their skins although Ezra wore his layers as a shield to keep himself safe. Or at least he had until he loved me, once that happened he shed them whenever he could. I realized that it was a measure of his trust in me that he could let down all those barriers and just be himself. 

That was one of the greatest gifts he’d given me – his trust in me. I was humbled by it and vowed never to let any harm come to him. Anyone who tried would have to come through me first. I felt his hands draw me up onto the other half of the blanket, coaxing me down so he could curl up in front of me. I was touched by his need to shield me from the others gaze.

He reached over and snagged both our shirts, handing me mine while he shrugged into the soft green linen that brought out the color in his eyes. My shirt was a new one that he’d sent away for from a tailor he knew in New Orleans. He told me it was the same beautiful blue as my eyes and I wore it to please him and because it was quite the nicest shirt I’d ever owned. Soft and supple like suede, it brushed against my chest and sent tingles through my skin. 

JD got the idea and soon we were all semi-dressed for our impromptu picnic. The chicken that I’d tasted earlier from Ezra’s lips was pulled out along with some of Inez’ fresh bread. We made sloppy sandwiches with some watercress and mustard that Ezra pulled out of his saddlebags. He was always thinking ahead. One of the wine bottles was opened and we toasted each other with the cool, sweet wine. 

Once we’d stilled our initial hunger pangs, JD spoke up. “Ezra, Josiah, I just want to say thank you for helping me get the courage to say something to Buck.” JD was blushing just a little but he split his glance between us with a determined smile. 

“You are a good friend, JD, and if Buck is the one who makes you happy, then you have our blessing.” I told him gently.

“I was scared of saying anything but Josiah told me that love needed a voice.” Buck’s voice rephrased something I’d said to him on the ride out. “But I still would have been too afraid of losing your friendship to say anything, JD. I’m glad that you were braver than I was.”

JD nodded with a shy smile but I could see that his confidence was growing by leaps and bounds. All too soon, Buck was going to have his hands full of an active lover who was going to love him to exhaustion. Our eyes met across the blanket and we smiled at each other. We had to be two of the luckiest men in the entire Territory.

Ezra pulled out some apples from his saddlebags and parceled them out between us. All too soon, the sun began to sink in the western sky and we had to finish getting dressed so we could ride home. It had been a good day. Grandma Hale was doing better, JD and Buck were now a couple and Ezra had a book he wanted to read to me. 

Not to mention the pictures, I sighed happily and swung up into my saddle. If I were very lucky, I’d be too sore to ride anywhere tomorrow. I caught Ezra’s laughing glance and knew that he’d read my mind. JD and Buck rode off first and we followed behind them, Ezra pulling Chaucer a little closer to me. 

“The tailor in New Orleans has a friend who is a bookseller, a . . . special friend. He wrote that the book he sent was an illustrated edition of a very famous work.” Ezra’s eyes sparkled up at me. “It’s called the Kama Sutra. I think we’ll enjoy reading it aloud during those long winter nights.”

And laughing, he urged Chaucer to a gentle canter. I smiled happily and followed. I was definitely going to be loved to death.   
I could hardly wait. 

*****************


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josiah is read to. 
> 
> Note: I’ve got two Kama Sutras in my collection, one classic m/f and one for m/m. A lingam is their word for cock in case you don’t want to go get a dictionary. 

********* Josiah ********* 

I cuddled Ezra closer and read from the Kama Sutra that he’d sent away for. He was right, the pictures were inspiring. I just couldn’t help comparing him to the painted beauties that graced the heavy sheets interspersed with text. They didn’t hold a candle to him and so I’d told him when he asked me if I thought them beautiful.

“Josiah, did you ever bed a woman like these on your travels?” He turned his head just far enough so he could turn that curious look on me.

“It was a very long time ago, Ezra and yes, I did.” I caressed his cheek and gently kissed him. “I was staying with a minor noble named Rashid in his summer residence in the far north of India. It was the custom to gift a guest with a woman of the harem for a pleasant evening’s entertainment. I remember her name was Pearl and her skin was like honey. Unfortunately she stank of some unguent that the Indians found desirable. I didn’t want to be rude so I complimented her on her dancing before telling her that I’d taken a vow of chastity.”

Ezra had started off frowning but by the time I was done he was smiling again. I didn’t intend to ever tell him that Rashid had been quite insistent and replaced her with an exotic beauty with doe eyes and a truly amazing limberness that had exhausted me completely. That had happened to another man entirely.

“Good,” he kissed me hard before turning to another scene of debauchery. The reds and blues of the picture practically leapt off the page. “Oh my, Josiah, all the men have really big cocks like yours.” And he confidently stroked me back to life after our earlier bout.

I chuckled and snaked a hand under the book to his pretty cock. “I never actually saw any of them but I think we can take it for fact that the artists were exaggerating a bit.”

He stuck his tongue out at me and I swooped in to suck it into my mouth. Ezra still tasted of our afternoon tea and I searched for the honey that he delighted in drizzling on the scones. He is sweeter than anything I’ve ever tasted. But finally we had to breathe and he grinned up at me.

“That’s very sad, Josiah but I’m glad that they never saw this beautiful organ or you might have never come back to the United States. And that would be very terrible for me.” He gripped me a little tighter and I felt myself harden a bit more. “But you liked her dancing, didn’t you?”

“She was a very good dancer, sinuous and limber.” I admitted and turned another page.

“Hm-m,” he said while his eyes widened. “Josiah, is that even possible?”

A woman was bent over backwards between two men, one of them fucking her while she sucked the other’s cock. “Just barely possible, Ezra and she’d be in danger of choking if the second man thrust too hard into her throat.”

“Josiah, if you had a harem who would be in it?” His tones were playful but I heard a tiny note of insecurity.

“Just you, beloved, only and ever you,” I said fervently. “I’ll never need another soul as long as you stay with me.”

He dimpled up at me before going back to looking at the vivid drawing. “Not even Miss Duke?”

Ah, I saw his real question. Miss Duke was a new inhabitant of Four Corners, coming here with her married sister and brother-in-law to open a restaurant in our growing community. “Certainly not, Ezra, she’s much too tall and too blonde.”

He relaxed a little against me. “Oh good, she’s very pretty and she’s traveled a lot.”

“True, I enjoyed my brief chat with her when I helped Daniel with the new windows.” I nonchalantly turned another page to a man standing while fucking the woman he had lifted in his arms. “But she’s also rather opinionated and a little proud. I could see that she had already dismissed me as a potential mate because of my age and appearance.”

“She’s a fool then,” he said flatly. “You are the most desirable man in the whole of Four Corners. But I’m glad that you don’t want to add her to your harem.” He traced the picture's position. “I think we could do this one, Josiah, although we’d have to improvise. If I faced away from you, held onto the back of a chair and let you pick me up, I could wrap my legs around your waist so you could slide right in and fuck me hard.”

My cock jumped at that wanton picture. I had to clear my throat before I answered him. “I think you’re right, little love. Would you like to try it now?”

He twinkled up at me. “I think that you should get me ready for your beautiful big cock. Your little concubine needs reminding who his lord and master is.”

I almost lost it then and there at the rather shocking picture he’d painted in my mind. He saw my reaction and closed the book, lithely getting up to put it on the bedside table before returning with the liniment that we kept near the bed. His grace put those dancers of my past to shame. He moves like a cat, all sinuous lines and liquid gestures.

If I wasn’t to disgrace myself by coming too soon, I was going to have to calm down. But having Ezra stretch himself over my lap wasn’t helping nor was his delicate licking of my rock hard cock. He knew the signs though and pulled sharply on my balls, taking away the immediate need to come. I took a deep breath and slid a slick finger between his plump cheeks.

He wiggled all over when I sparked his gland, the velvet channel grasping at my finger when I slid it out and came back in with two. He was panting by the time I got to three and flexing around the blunt intruders with little mewls of pleasure.

“Now, Josiah, please now,” he panted then sighed unhappily when I took them out. But he abandoned my cock at once and got up to lay his hands on the back of the chair that we kept in the bedroom. He cast a sultry look over his shoulder while I made my way off the bed, still afraid that I’d come prematurely.

“If you feel any pain, Ezra, you must tell me at once.” I kissed him slowly and ran my hands over his silken skin.

“I promise, my Lord,” he wiggled back against me. I had a strong urge to forget what we were going to try, throw him over my shoulder and head straight back to bed.

“Little love, hold on tight.” I waited until he was holding on to the top rung of the chair back before getting a good grip on his hips and raising him up until he was parallel to the floor.

Guiding his legs around my hips, my cock slid between his cheeks and nudged his suddenly impossibly small hole. Ezra was chanting my name over and over while I pressed inexorably inward. He felt tighter than he had when I took his virginity. There was something about the angle that was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.

“Dear God, Josiah,” he was panting and I could see his arms trembling. “You feel huge. So good, so very good and so deep that you’re about to come out of my navel.”

I chuckled and stilled balls deep in him. “Is there any pain, little love?”

He clenched around me. “No pain, love, just a burning pleasure that makes me want to scream. Please move now.”

So I adjusted my grip on his hips and began a slow pullout before thrusting back in. He didn’t scream but I’d never heard my name shouted quite so prayerfully before. It was like making love for the very first time and I knew it couldn’t last. He was trembling all over and I wasn’t far behind. There was no way that either of us could touch his cock but that didn’t matter because when he suddenly burst, he took me right along with him.

We rested a moment before I had a thought. Sliding one hand from his hip up to his chest, I got him balanced just right. “Sweetheart, let go of the chair and let’s see if I can carry you back to the bed without coming out.”

He let go at once, reminding me of the great trust he placed in me. For a moment we teetered a bit then I brought him up against my chest. And that was when he did shriek my name and start growing hard again. Slowly, I walked across the room back to our bed while he moaned and clenched around my still firm shaft. Going to my knees on the mattress, I gingerly laid him face down onto the soft sheets, still pillowed on my thighs.

“Josiah . . . oh love . . . Josiah,” he groaned and flexed around my bulk still firm but not really hard enough to come again this afternoon. “Stay inside of me.”

“Sweetheart, you’re going to be sore if I don’t come out soon.” I was torn by never wanting to leave his tight warmth and the fear that I would hurt him.

“No, I won’t.” He cast a bright look over his shoulder. “I think you like having a harem, Lord Josiah. And the Book says that you have an obligation to keep your concubine satisfied.”

Dear heavens, he was right. I stroked my hands down his back to the firm cheeks that pillowed my cock. “Do you mind if I like that fantasy, little love?”

He grinned and wiggled a little. “I like it when we play games, my lord. I never want you to need any additions to your harem so I promise to always please you. Why when you leave each morning, I promise to be waiting here for you, naked and oiled so you can come home each night and plunge your mighty lingam into me.”

And my traitorous cock jumped at that wanton picture. His delighted laughter told me that he’d felt that. “Ezra, no man could possibly resist that promise.” I rocked in a little then out, taking it slowly this time. “Of course, some days I think I’d like to be the weary preacher who stops at the country estate of a young Rajah. The Prince would begin to teach me what ignorant Americans don’t know about the sacred art of love between men.”

He buried his head in the pillow and moaned again. “And the traveler would be a virgin in the ways of love, wouldn’t he?”

“Indeed he would be untutored and shy about his hairy old body when confronted by the smooth young skin of the beautiful Rajah.” I thrust a little harder and felt my balls draw up. My control was never strong around my Ezra.

“I will be your Rajah, Josiah so long as you let me be your concubine.” He was pushing back against me, trying to get me deeper.

“We’ll take turns, beloved,” I impaled him one last time and released the tiny bit of fluid I had left deep within his hot depths. He moaned and came in my hand.

This time I gently eased my way out of his body and rolled him over so he wasn’t suffocating himself in the pillow. We were both limp all over and I lay down beside him with a little moan of exhaustion. I’d need a steak and about 24 hours of sleep to gain back the energy I’d expended this afternoon.

“Josiah, we need to take a nap before we go to the saloon for dinner.” He fit himself into my side and I drew up the sheet over us. “Love you, Josiah.”

I held him close and kissed the top of his curly head. “I love you too, Ezra. Go to sleep and dream of me.”

He chuckled and yawned against my nipple, giving it an idle lick before sucking on it. “I will dream you on your hands and knees, I think. I will have just shaved you all over so you won’t be so affected by the heat of my country. You’ll be slick with oil, begging me to put out the fire inside of you.”

I blinked and thought about that decadent picture. Coughing a little to clear my suddenly paralyzed vocal chords, “I’ll dream that too, beloved.”

“My Josiah,” his voice trailed off and I smiled into his curls.

All our dreams were bright.

************************


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changes arrive and drive the Seven out of Four Corners. I wanted to explore the very real reactions of the town's people to having gay law enforcement and it slotted into this iteration perfectly. And it allowed me to crossover with WWW.

********* Josiah ********* 

I finished packing the last of our things and looked around the cold room. Everything that had made it a warm haven was gone, packed away into three wooden crates. I was tired, beyond tired really. The nightmare that had become my life seemed to have sucked all the goodness from the air around me. My heart gave a great thump and I wondered if it would break right here where Ezra and I had been so happy.

“Josiah, this the last of it?” Vin’s grim voice came from the doorway and I shook my head clear of the fatigue before nodding. “Good, I got my wagon at the back door. Nathan’s on his way. We’ll be loaded up and gone before another hour.”

“Good,” I managed a smile for him. He and the rest of the seven were the only reason that I was keeping my sanity.

“You feelin’ all right, ‘Siah?” Nathan’s voice asked professionally from over Vin’s shoulder. “Let’s finish haulin’ this out to the wagon so’s we can be on our way.”

I nodded again and took one side of the biggest crate while he took the other. Vin held the door for us and we slid it onto the back of his wagon. Two more trips and I took a last look at the church that had taken so much of my time and thought. It would probably be exorcised by the new preacher.

Nathan gave me a one armed hug and handed me Solon’s reins. Mounting, I waited for Vin to go first with the wagon then I fell in beside Nathan while we left the dust of Four Corners behind. I could feel eyes on our backs and I twitched just a little, wondering if one of the town bigots would decide to erase the sin of our presence with a rifle bullet or three.

Chris met us on the road to Sarney, riding Pony. There wasn’t anything to say so we didn’t speak on the two hour trip to the railroad town. I know that my brain had gone numb and only the knowledge that Ezra was waiting for me there kept me upright in the saddle. For the first time in a very long time, I wished that I had a bottle. Didn’t matter what it was so long as it was strong.

Buck was waiting at the livery and with a few words he gave us the important parts of the plan. I hadn’t even realized there was a ‘plan for this contingency’ as Ezra had put it when Reverend Andrews denounced us in the street outside the saloon. But it seemed to be working so I was content to let it play out. The best part of this plan was waiting for us in the small hotel a few blocks away.

********* Ezra ********* 

My poor Josiah was barely putting one foot in front of the other when Buck brought the rest of our brotherhood to the suite I’d reserved. I hugged him right in front of the others, glad that he was finally here. His arms held me so close that I could hardly breathe but that didn’t matter, only that he was safe from the small minded idiots in our former town.

After a long moment when all I wanted to do was take him straight to the big bed in the other room, I murmured his name. His big hands finally came to rest on my shoulders and I was able to lean back enough to see the sorrow in his eyes. I couldn’t bear to see that so I rushed into speech.

“We are going to California, Josiah. The midnight train should have two cars reserved for us. One will hold the horses and our household goods, the other will hold the eight of us.” I smiled at his questioning look and looked around him for our healer. “Rain will be here shortly, Nathan. When I explained what had happened, she started packing. JD waited for her while Buck and I came on ahead to send some telegrams and get some supplies.”

Nathan beamed and I was glad that Buck had reminded me of the sassy woman who lived with the tribe. It was good that we all had our lovers with us on this new venture into the unknown. I led Josiah to the settee and made him sit down before going to the tea set that I’d borrowed from the hotel kitchens. It wasn’t the dainty tea service that was ours but it would do for now.

“You going to tell us how we got us a couple of railway cars reserved?” Vin asked from beside his lover on a pair of chairs near the windows.

“I was an actor for a time right after the War. One of my companions was a very experienced thespian who helped me learn the trade.” I remembered my friend with a smile. “He was so amazing that he could literally become anyone he wished and you’d truly believe that he was a . . . a Chinaman or a grizzled old sailor or Othello himself. Two years after I’d moved on, I came across him again only to find that he worked for the government. We kept in touch after that so when he retired with his partner to northern California, he wrote me about their adventures. When I fell in love with Josiah, I wrote him about how happy I was even though Four Corners was the back of beyond.”

There was a little wrinkle between Josiah’s eyes and I reached up to smooth it out. “He was very happy for me because he was in love with his male partner and blissfully happy himself. He questioned the safety of our love in such a backwards village and since I also wondered just how safe we would be if our passion was discovered, we worked out a code by which I could cable him for help and he would provide it. The railway cars have been in place for over two months in Santa Fe. It seems that his partner owns quite a bit of railway stock so our escape route was assured.”

********* Josiah ********* 

I could hardly take it in. All the time that I thought I was taking care of him, he’d been planning to take care of us. And it seemed he was doing a much better job of it than I could hardly believe. I could smell the lavender of our soap on him and I wanted to just bury myself in his arms and never come out. I was also jealous as hell of this actor to whom he was so close.

“We goin’ to be actors, too?” Chris said sarcastically but I could see him thinking about California.

Ezra winked at him saucily. “I doubt you would succeed, Mr. Larabee, unless it was as one of the villains with that black glare of yours. No, I believe that Artemis has some land under title for two stalwart veterans of the War.” He smiled at Vin and the tracker relaxed. “Their town needs a sheriff, JD. They have a very good doctor who needs an apothecary, Nathan. Their wood worker has more work than he can handle, Buck. And the town is in crying need of a good bookstore, Josiah.”

He looked up at me and the hope there grew a large lump in my throat. After clearing it, I brought his hand up to my lips. “I think becoming a bookseller is exactly what I’d like to do.”

His smile lit the room. “Excellent, Josiah, it will be great fun to find good used books with which to stock our shelves and even more fun to talk about them to their new owners. We can hold readings in the evenings. They will love to listen to you read, Josiah.”

I almost flushed at his praise but the part of me that had sunk into despair, raised up and took a deep breath. “Getting started will take more capital than either of us have, my love.”

Ezra blushed and slipped his hand into mine. “Actually, Josiah, Artemis’ partner is a talented businessman who is a genius with a stock portfolio. I transferred half of my assets to an account in San Francisco and gave him charge of it. So far, he’s tripled it and will have perhaps quadrupled it by the time we reach them in eight days. We will have sufficient to stock our modest book shop, Josiah, truly we will.”

My angel was proving to have wings and a halo, I thought while stroking a thumb across his soft cheek. He must have realized that I was content because he dimpled up at me before laying his head against my shoulder and cradling my left hand in both of his. We were all tired from the last two days of hell and the release of tension sent us all into a torpor that might have passed onto sleep if JD and Rain hadn’t arrived.

Watching Nathan take both her hands in his, I truly felt like smiling for the first time in what seemed like forever. They were good together and both had escaped pasts that would have crippled less strong souls. I could hardly wait for the wedding.

********* Ezra ********* 

I sighed in relief. Josiah hadn’t asked anymore questions so I’d not had to skirt the truth much. I hadn’t kept my finances a secret exactly, just never mentioned some of my resources. If mother taught me anything, it was to hide your assets and always diversify. I hadn’t met Artemis’ partner, except the once but within investment circles the name James West was spoken of with awe.

My nest egg had hatched enough gold to stock more than a modest book shop but starting small would take a great deal of time and effort. And after the shocking events of the last week, we all needed something to take our minds off the loss of the sinecure that was Four Corners law enforcement. I hadn’t liked the looks of the Reverend Andrews when he and his pious wife had come to town.

His thundering denunciations of the sinfulness of life in town and especially of the seven peace keepers had at first dismayed us but then painted targets on our backs for the lawless scum who pretended to be so shocked and appalled at our depravity. It had all gone from bad to worse within the space of twenty-four hours and I’d kissed Josiah goodbye with all the fervor I could manage before heading here to Sarney and the telegraph office.

Mother always had an escape route planned and I’d learned that lesson extremely early. I held onto Josiah’s hand tightly, pressing it against my chest and wishing we had this room to ourselves. But there was no time for cuddling. We had six hours to get the rest of our supplies, see Sarney’s preacher so Nathan and Rain could get married, and find enough bedding to go with the cots Buck and I had bought at the local emporium.

Dividing up the tasks, I parceled out some of the gold that I’d withdrawn from the bank earlier. I never kept my money in the same town where I worked since that was rarely prudent. The bank manager had tried to talk me out of taking it all but I merely informed him of the ‘special but unspecified deal’ in which I was participating. While there, I also arranged for the mortgages that I held in Four Corners to be transferred to an old friend of mine who had recently settled in Santa Fe.

Reverend Andrews and his cohorts would soon be dealing with a Sicilian who owed me a life debt and had my approval to bring his own form of justice to the place that I’d once thought might be a home. His large family would no doubt help. I smiled to myself and shook my head at Josiah’s questioning look. I didn’t think he’d approve of my machinations since he really didn’t believe in his father’s ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy.

I didn’t either . . . much. I didn’t really care what they did to me but they’d hurt Josiah and my friends and that was completely unacceptable. I was fierce in my determination to take care of them now. Once Josiah was feeling better and getting interested in our future, then I could go back to being the free spirit he saw in me. He’d compared me to a kitten once and I smugly agreed that I was. And right now my claws were needed.

********* Josiah ********* 

The steady rumble of the rails beneath me was a rather soothing accompaniment to my tired self. We’d gotten everything done, including celebrating Nathan and Rain’s wedding in the small church in Sarney. The midnight train had pulled in on time and we’d quickly loaded up our horses, supplies and household goods into the two cars. The people car had been a revelation to most of us. 

There was a small necessary room with a sink and a commode next to a galley kitchen where Rain and Nathan had unpacked the food and drink that we’d gathered for the next two days. The parlor was small but bigger than the other rooms so it accommodated four of us. Buck and JD set up their cots at one end while Vin and Chris took the other end. Two other rooms were small bedrooms and our newly weds took the far end while Ezra and I set up our cots in the other one.

We placed our cots side by side, the way we all had and I held Ezra’s hand as if he’d disappear if I let go. Might he still be awake? I whispered, “Ezra?”

“Beloved,” he raised up on one elbow and looked down at me, the moonlight from the window veiling him in silvery light. “Are you mad that I took over and planned everything without telling you?”

“God! No, Ezra, I’m grateful beyond belief that you thought so far ahead.” I tried to smile. “I’m ashamed that I did so little to help.”

“Josiah,” he frowned sternly, well as sternly as his adorable face would allow. “You took care of me for the last six months.” His hand stroked my bristly cheek and I wished I’d shaved so I wouldn’t mar his tender skin. “You loved me, fed me, made love to me and did everything while I was healing. I love you so much and I cherish our friends so very much that this was the least I could do. Mother always taught me to plan for the rainy day that was sure to come.”

I chuckled a little. “She was right, beloved, rainy days and crows always come.”

“But together, we can shelter from the rain and shoo the crows away.” He reminded me before leaning in and kissing me sweetly. 

We feasted on each other slowly until we both had to yawn, which set us to chuckling quietly. Laying as close together as the two canvas and wood cots would allow, we fell asleep to the accompaniment of the click-clack of the wheels against the rails. Sleepily, I heard a moan from the end compartment and I smiled at the two hearts who’d been united so recently.

The future was a bit cloudy but between the eight of us, we’d make sure that the sun would break through to guide us to our new home.

********* James West ********* 

I was not nervous. I tugged a little on the tie that kept trying to strangle me. Artemis’ chuckle told me that he’d noticed. I darted a look at him and found him smiling tenderly at me. That can still make me blush and we’d been lovers for just over four years now.

“James, my dearest love, please relax.” That rich voice that I loved to listen to poured over my ears like honey. “They are going to like you and you are going to enjoy them. Ezra’s judgment is second only to your own, beloved, and he has called these men his brothers.”

“I know Ezra has a quick mind and a talent for business but this man he loves is a minister.” I could hear my father’s voice trumpeting about sin but it was quieter now after the years of Artemis telling me he loved me.

“True but Ezra has a secret weapon.” My lover chuckled and took my hand. “He was raised by a she-wolf who did untold damage to his sweet soul, in almost the same manner that your father did to you. Mothers do not always protect their young and if this man was anything like your father, Ezra would have run a mile from him.”

I thought about that while we waited in the small front parlor of the Hilltop Hotel. We always stayed here when we came into San Francisco and we had rooms reserved for the eight new settlers of Nice. From the descriptions in Ezra’s last letter, I would probably be most comfortable with Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. Artemis had chosen ten thousand acres about half way around the lake for them to claim and with a little help in Sacramento from our lawyer and five thousand dollars from Ezra’s account, the seven of them now held the deed.

The others would be in town and that had proven to be an interesting puzzle to figure out. Wellington had accepted Buck Wilmington for a probationary period of six months and offered the rooms above the shop for him and J.D. Dunne since he and Denver had built their new home. The town council had been looking for a new sheriff since the old one caught the gold fever and departed for the northern territories. Artemis recommended the young man and the council agreed, again for a six month trial.

The shop next door to Wellington’s furniture workshop was empty now and I’d bought it from the former owners who’d also left for greener pastures. It would be perfect for the book store that Ezra had written us to find. The rooms above would house him and his partner quite well with no need to worry about any noise affecting their neighbors. For the Negro and his new wife, of whom Ezra had cabled us once they were on their way, we had a temporary home ready.

A homestead on the edge of Nice between the railroad station and the woods through which we traveled when we came to town, we’d thought would provide enough land for the herbs that Nathan Jackson would be growing. But the tiny cabin already there would barely hold him, let alone a wife and perhaps children. Still, we had experience building houses and the others of the seven would surely help their friend build on.

While I was musing, they arrived and I was soon shaking hands while trying to keep an eye on Artemis and the beautiful young man he’d hugged and called ‘Ezra’. Flashing green eyes and a sassy smile made my stomach quiver. The young man shone with bright laughter and I compared myself to him with a sinking heart.

“Mr. West, I’d like to thank you for your help.” The older man was grizzled with tired eyes and the deep voice that reminded me of the pulpit, but his hand shake was gentle. “Do not borrow trouble, young man. Your Mr. Gordon is rather like my Ezra, a bright soul with a beautiful and bountiful heart. I can see that you and I are somewhat alike also.”

I looked into almost identical blue eyes and blinked. I’d barely met the man but he’d read my mind with ease.

He smiled, looking at the two green-eyed men across the room. “I have long been a solitary man, fighting demons within my soul and devils out in the great world around us. Until Ezra, I was lonely and sad, thinking myself too old and definitely too mundane to attract such a beautiful man.”

I blinked again and cast a quick look across to my laughing lover. As if he could read my mind, he looked at me and smiled lovingly. At the same moment, Ezra looked over to beam at the man beside me. Once again, I thanked God for the man who held my heart.

Coming back to the graying man at my side, I swallowed hard and replied. “You are right, Mr. Sanchez. Artemis rescued me from the icy prison that my father had walled me in for most of my life. According to him, there was nothing but sin in my soul and nothing loveable about me at all.”

He nodded and finished his tea. “That is well said, Mr. West. My father was the same, a preacher of hellfire and brimstone. We will talk more later. For now, please accept my deepest thanks for helping Ezra plan our escape. I’m looking forward to beginning a new life with friends around me, both old and new.”

He smiled and left me to get another cup of tea from the side board. I felt more settled and crossed the room to speak with the gunslinger and his tracker. Artemis had been right again, these were good men and would be just the right kind of diverse minds to help Nice grow. It should prove interesting to see them settle in.

**********************


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all enjoy San Francisco.

********* Ezra ********* 

Once I got Josiah alone with a decent bed, I pounced. He was already chuckling when he landed on the bed with me on top of him. “Ezra, is there something you want?”

“You, Josiah, I always want you.” I said and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I want you naked and then I want me naked. Then I’m going to kiss you everywhere and sink deep inside of you so you know that I love you.”

“Dearest Ezra, I can already feel your love all around me.” He sighed, his hands getting busy with my vest buttons. “I am amazed by your fore thought and the instinct you portrayed in getting us out of . . . there.”

I’d gotten to skin and wonderful gray hairs that loved to curl around my fingers. “Four Corners will soon be a wistful memory, my love. We’ll celebrate the moment we came together and the little room that was our sanctuary.” I pushed his jacket and shirt off, trapping his arms at his sides while I practically ripped open his pants. He was only half hard but I was going to take care of that. “But now, we’re going to make new memories in our very own place.”

I dragged off his pants and looked possessively at his tempting body with all those long heavy muscles so unlike my own. “You’re beautiful, Josiah. Don’t move.”

Shedding my clothes onto the floor and not even bothering to hang them up, I rejoined him on the wide bed. I made sure that I slowly slid up between his long legs, touching him tenderly over every inch of skin I could reach. His breathy little moans told me much but his slowly firming shaft told me even more.

“I want to touch you, Ezra.” His pout was truly heart-rending but I shook my head firmly.

“Later, Josiah, right now I’m going to suck you until you’re so hard you could hammer nails with this magnificent organ.” I smiled at him then leaned in and dragged my tongue up from his balls all the way to the flaring crown, sucking gently while he shivered beneath me. Finally letting him slip from my mouth, I licked my lips and reached for my pants where I’d put a tin of salve in the pocket.

He rolled onto all fours, shrugging off the last of his clothing. “Now please, Ezra, make me whole again.”

“You are my love . . .” I stretched him slowly while kissing my way down his spine. “You are my life . . . Josiah,” I pressed against him and sank into heated perfection. This time we both groaned and I hugged him tight when my balls met his cheeks. “I gave you my heart, Josiah and you are taking wonderful care of it.”

“I merely traded mine for yours, beloved.” His voice had never been so deep and rich. “Make love to me, Ezra, remind me that our love can overcome all obstacles.”

“We can do anything we mean to, Josiah.” I pulled out and thrust back in, taking my time and holding onto his hips to help balance me. “Just think about our book store with thousands of books lining the nice oak shelves that Buck will build for us. Leather bindings of crimson and royal blue will nestle next to verdant green and creamy white spines of the best literature of America and Europe.”

My thrusts were getting faster and deeper while Josiah began to push back in order to get more of me inside of him. But that wasn’t possible unless my shaft grew and I didn’t think that was possible. He’d grown silent and I knew he was probably as close as I was to letting go. So, I slid one hand around his hip and grasped his rampant shaft, which already wept salty tears.

He groaned and came, taking me by surprise and squeezing my seed from me. Josiah slid down to the bed with me plastered to his sweaty back. We lay like that for a long moment while we both caught our breath and I think, relaxed completely for the first time in two weeks. We were safe from small minded men and women with a whole new world opening up before us.

I rubbed my cheek against his shoulder blade, feeling just like the kitten he sometimes called me and purring my content. His rumbling chuckle disturbed my comfortable bed. “Beloved, I think that we should clean up in the bathroom that the nice man told us about. You know how much I love to see you wet.”

“Water at the turn of a tap,” I eased myself from his warm depths. “We’ve truly reached civilization.”

He rolled over still chuckling. “I agree, my love, although you may need to help me up.”

“I will always be here to help you up.” I moved off the bed and offered him a hand up. I was dying for a nice hot bath. Sharing one with Josiah was my idea of paradise, I thought while turning on the taps and feeling the lovely hot water gush out. Josiah came in at that moment with a bar of our lavender soap and I was pleased we still had some left.

Josiah got in first so he could offer me an arm to hold onto. I sat down between his legs and felt him cup water up to splash over my back. That felt so good that I just had to wriggle a little. He chuckled while running the soapy cloth down my spine then back up again. He delighted in tormenting me but I would soon return the favor, I decided. Nothing is more fun than soaping his wiry curls.

********* Josiah ********* 

I slept like the dead that first night in San Francisco. After eight nights on a rickety cot, the firm mattress was pure heaven. Ezra had tired me out earlier and the delicious meal at the Fisherman’s Café had stuffed me so full that I thought I’d never eat again. But my stomach was growling at me so I opened my eyes and reached for Ezra only to find him gone. Raising my head, I heard him humming in the bathroom.

That made me smile wholeheartedly. The past was the past and if I knew my love, he had a plan for today. I rolled out of bed and stretched all over, feeling my bones pop and my muscles ripple. That sound brought Ezra to the bathroom door and his smile was incandescent although he was already dressed, which made me want to pout.

“Dear Josiah, you look like Atlas having shed the burden of holding up Earth.” He crossed to me, sliding his arms around me and hugging me tight. “I love you, Josiah.”

Holding him is heaven on earth. “I love you too, Ezra.”

He kissed the center of my chest and gently tugged on the nipple over my heart. “Get cleaned up, love. I have your razor and soap ready. The staff here is quite amazing. Our clothes are pressed and ready for us to wear, our shoes are cleaned and polished, and the doorman said that their restaurant does a wonderful breakfast.”

“You’ve already been out and about?” I asked incredulously while letting him lead me to the bathroom door.

“There’s much to do today, beloved. I wanted to make sure that Artemis and James had the lists ready that I asked them to make for us.” He continued talking while I relieved myself then started cleaning up.

It sounded like we had a very full day ahead of us. We didn’t need furniture, it seemed because our new lodgings came ready furnished although he sniffed a bit and told me that if they weren’t adequate then we’d have Buck make us something better. I hummed agreement while he watched me shave. That still fascinated him for some reason, watching me scrape my cheeks clean of the increasingly gray hairs.

At thirty-eight, should I really be getting this gray, this fast, I pondered my reflection.

Ah well, nothing I could do about it. I splashed and dried my face before following Ezra’s voice into our bedroom. He handed me each piece of clothing, insisting on ‘helping’ me fasten my buttons. He also insisted on kissing my cock before hiding it away from the ‘general populous’. That was very teasing and so I told him but he just grinned saucily and said that once our errands were done, he’d find some place nice and warm for him.

I was torn between messing up his schedule by taking him straight back to bed and continuing down to breakfast. His little wink told me that he knew of my dilemma but he was already opening our door and calling a good morning to Chris and Vin who had the room across from us.

Vin just nodded while Chris spoke, “Morning, Josiah . . . Ezra. You got plans for today?”

Ezra smiled. “James will sit down with you after breakfast and give you the prospectus of your land. I think he wants you to go with him to the cattle yards to see if there’s a herd you might wish to buy.”

“With what, Ezra?” Chris glowered at him but my lover simply smiled.

“Why, with your savings from the bank, of course.” Ezra’s gold tooth flashed at them. “I took the liberty of having all the seven’s accounts transferred to the First Liberty Bank here in San Francisco. James really is a genius with money. I believe he’s already tripled everyone’s savings. Land is still amazingly cheap here in California and Artemis’ contact at the Land Commission in Sacramento was most helpful in securing our land.”

Vin was smiling now and Chris had a kind-of-stunned look that made me want to laugh out loud. Ezra just kept on smiling while he led us down the stairs since Vin had balked at the small elevator. He told them about the 10,000 acres and how all our names were on the deed. He chattered about the horse breeding that James was beginning and how he’d like partners in his endeavors.

By the time we joined our friends at the long breakfast table, Vin was grinning and Chris’ frown had been completely erased. Buck and Artemis were chatting about different species of woods and a lumber yard that he’d be touring this morning. James and JD were talking about Nice and its inhabitants. Nathan and Rain still hadn’t appeared but having a real bed might have enticed them to stay in this morning.

Breakfast was magnificent and even Ezra finished everything on his plate. He and Artemis had both made lists for everyone and it looked like a full day was on everyone's agenda. Ezra had a list of used and new bookstores for us to go to. James was going to take Vin, Chris and JD to the cattle and horse yards. Artemis was taking Buck to the lumber emporium and Nathan and Rain to Chinatown for a visit to the apothecary.

Ezra explained about the bank and everyone’s accounts. He handed out small books to each couple that detailed their savings, giving all credit to James who was blushing beet red by the time the stunned recipients finished giving him their thanks. He shot a look at Ezra that I didn’t quite understand. The bottom line in the small booklet that Ezra had handed me made my eyes open wide.

It was all I could do to read the amount without exclaiming, $5,876. James West was a genius indeed since if I remembered correctly, only the $876 was mine.

********* James ********* 

I was going to have a long talk with Ezra Standish very soon, I decided. I’d done no more than set up the others accounts and deposit what he sent me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that he’d taken this course to give everyone a nest egg without it appearing that he had anything to do with it. I had worked with the $100,000 he’d sent me two months before and that had tripled quite nicely.

Artemis was giving me a rather speaking look so I knew not to say anything about my suspicions. Maybe he and Ezra had planned this? It felt like something my tender-hearted lover would want to do to make life easier for his friends. Then again, maybe Ezra was more like my lover than I’d first thought and not just in looks.

We split up after breakfast and I shepherded my three to the stock yards where we split up to see as much as possible. Somehow I ended up with their youngest, JD who was looking for another horse for himself. We were standing in a stable inspecting a roan gelding with some nice features when JD surprised me.

“You didn’t have time to invest our money, did you, Mr. West?” He said with a direct look into my eyes. “Ezra simply sent you funds and told you how to split them up?”

I thought quickly but couldn’t lie. “Please call me James. I think we’re going to be friends, JD, and you are correct.”

“He told me once that diversification was the key to financial success.” JD picked up the left hind leg and checked the roan’s hock. “I had almost $300 in the bank in Sarney, not the $3600 that my little book says I have. Some of the others may not realize it but Ezra is something of a mother-hen when it comes to his friends. Just like the plan he had for us to leave if things went bad in Four Corners, I expect this is just a part of his grand scheme of things, James.”

I found myself chuckling. “I’m beginning to think that your Ezra and my Artemis were really brothers separated at birth. A better friend, you could not find anywhere.”

He flashed me a wide smile and went to the horse’s other side to check that leg. “I think you’re right. I know that it embarrasses you but if you wouldn’t mind continuing to be the ‘financial genius’ that Ezra says you are it would really help while we’re settling in.”

“Do you think that none of the others will realize the truth?” I was curious.

“Josiah probably already does but he would never hurt Ezra.” He rejoined me at the horse’s head. “Vin might also but the other two probably won’t. I plan to distract Buck away from the truth until we’re settled in.” His grin was just a touch sultry. “After that, well the chips will fall where they may. Do you think his hindquarters are too narrow?”

********* Artemis ********* 

We left Buck at the lumber yards while I took Nathan and his wife to Chang’s Apothecary. They stood back a little when I began speaking to the elderly Chinese patriarch but I’d developed a fluid facility in translating for James and I drew them into our conversation slowly.

Nathan was an intelligent man with a quick mind and his new wife was a good match for him. They’d been through so much in such a short period of time that I could understand their hesitancy in buying the stock that they would need to set up shop. I had a feeling that Ezra had done a little slight of hand when it came to their savings account. There had to be a reason that my poor James had blushed such a fiery red this morning.

But Rain was practical and she gently nudged her new husband into buying enough herbs and oils to complete the stocks they had packed up and brought with them. Mr. Chang also mentioned his cousin’s greenhouse and gave us directions to his gardens. My own herb garden was coming along nicely under the good care of our gardener and I did a little gentle bragging about the varieties of thyme that we had grown.

Lemon thyme is one of my favorites and Nathan immediately nodded when I mentioned it. He was quite knowledgeable about the healing herbs and Rain’s emphasis seemed to be on the cooking herbs so between the three of us, we had a most pleasant drive to the vast gardens that the Chang family owned. This time I did some buying also and we left there two hours later well pleased with our purchases.

We all met at the Fisherman’s Café since James and I never grow tired of their delicious menu. It was also a color-blind establishment and there were few enough of those around. I took great pleasure in speaking of Anna’s in Nice where all were welcome and the French cooking was superb. Now that I’d met all of the seven, I could see what different spices they would each bring to our growing community.

James was more open than I’d ever seen him with the men with whom he’d spent the morning. The tracker still hadn’t spoken more than two words but his partner had relaxed and opened up. They wanted to run Angus cattle and the thirty that had been for sale looked like a well tended herd. My lover was dealing with the logistics of transporting the cattle to Lakeport for offloading.

They’d go over land then to their property. While Chris and Vin were driving them north, we’d be erecting a simple cottage for now and a couple of the Pomo Indians who worked for us could be detailed to watch the herd while the two owners decided for themselves where they wanted what. James and I had ridden over part of it already so I had some ideas about what might be a suitable place for their home.

Ezra and Josiah joined us before we’d gotten to dessert and I smiled at my young friend. He’d blossomed under the older man’s care and I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. The way he had of touching his lover constantly reminded me very much of James and me. I’d always hoped that Ezra would find someone to love and cherish him. It looked like my hopes had come true. Still, I would have to spend some time with Josiah, just to make sure that he was truly committed to my friend.

James had told me what Josiah had spoken to him and I found those statements very telling. In so many ways I thought that James and Ezra were alike but I was beginning to see that the reverse might be true also. Life had just gotten interesting again and I approved.

With these men, life would never be boring.

***********************


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Seven, now Eight, reach Nice and begin to settle in.

********* Josiah ********* 

The train pulled into the station with all of us looking out of the various windows of the private car that belonged to Artemis and James. The town looked clean and neat with trees and flowers blooming everywhere. Something deep inside of me took a shaky breath and perked up like a tulip after a spring rain. There is great beauty in a desert and I’d enjoyed my time there but this . . . this was like coming home.

Ezra slid his hand into mine and leaned against me. “It’s nice.”

“It’s better than nice, beloved,” I kissed his temple. “It’s home or it soon will be.”

His smile can light up the whole world. “I shall remind you of that as soon as we’re alone, my Josiah.”

I chuckled and arose from the chair we’d been sharing. The others were peppering our hosts with questions and the excitement in the air was palpable. After long months of having to hide ourselves, this was like a slice of heaven to finally find sanctuary. I had faith in Ezra and by extension, faith in our new/old friends. If they could find acceptance here then surely we seven, now eight, could also.

Walking off the railway car and onto the station platform, I stood aside while James made arrangements for the two cars that held our belongings and new purchases to be transferred to the side tracks where he told us that their car resided in between trips. Mr. Harris, the stationmaster, welcomed us with a cheery smile for us all, but especially for Ezra and me.

It seemed that a book store was exactly what everyone in Nice had been waiting for. I felt the first stirrings of anticipation for our new role in the community and a sudden desire to see the space that we’d soon be transforming into an emporium for readers. All of us grouped together to begin the walk down the shady street to the business section of Nice.

Everyone we met knew Artemis and James so we were introduced to one and all. It slowed us considerably but it was also a good way to get a feel for the town dwellers. I soon had the feeling that this friendly community would welcome us all even if we were a little odd by some standards. Ezra was charming to everyone and I could see the ladies perk up at his Southern accent, which was always just a little heavier when he was meeting people for the first time.

But then we were in front of the bow window of the empty store next to the wood shop and we got a good look at the space. I could barely manage to be polite to the small man with the booming voice that welcomed Buck to his shop. My fingers itched to be measuring the walls while my mind started taking inventory of the sparse furniture that I could see through the dusty windows.

Ezra smoothly got the key from Mr. Farnsworth and pulled me away from the others. Opening the door, we entered the echoing space and took a good long look at the deep room. The walls were in good repair but a rather dingy white that was displeasing. The woodwork was oak but it needed a good cleaning. There was a small counter that jutted out into the middle of the shop and I made a mental note to get rid of it or at least use it someplace else.

“I think we should build a window seat in the bow window with soft cushions that will beckon people to come in and sit.” Ezra’s voice was dreamy. “Bookcases all along both walls from ceiling to floor will be needed. I’d like a roll top desk back a little further than that counter. We need to paint badly. I’m glad that we got that oriental rug in Chinatown. It will look lovely right here.”

He was pacing the front from one side to the other, measuring the oak floor boards. I followed him to check on the counter, to make sure that it wasn’t anchored to the floor. “We need to sand down the rough spots and re-varnish the oak. I can see our work is cut out for us.”

His smile was luminous. “Yes it is, Josiah. Let’s check upstairs.”

I followed him to the back room where a few more pieces of furniture were huddled in a group in the middle of the floor. A set of steep indoor stairs were hidden behind a six-paneled door and we went up them with high expectations, at least on my part. The landing had another door that opened onto the sunny front room. The double hung windows were bare and the floor was in the same condition as the downstairs but all in all, it was a nicely proportioned room.

There was a small kitchen to the right and a hallway leading to the back. Ezra was exploring the kitchen cupboards when I opened the next door onto a splendid room with a white porcelain pedestal sink, an oak commode, a dainty Delft tiled coal burning stove and a six foot long porcelain tub. I smiled to myself at the thought of being able to soak with Ezra at the end of a long day.

“Josiah, this is wonderful.” Ezra had appeared at my side and his smile was bright. “It looks like we have hot and cold running water in both the kitchen and the bathroom. What are the bedrooms like?”

“I don’t know, my love. Let’s go see.” I held out my hand and he took it before tugging me back down the hall. The next door led to a small room about 10 foot by 10 foot. It was empty of all furniture. The end door opened onto a freshly painted room with a red oil cloth tacked onto the floor boards in the middle of the room. A double bed sat to one side while an oak dresser sat on the other side. A window looked out onto the alley below but the houses on the other side of the dirt alley had their windows well covered with curtains.

“The oil cloth has to go. The mattress needs replacing, I just knew it would.” Ezra was prowling around the room, poking the straw mattress and opening the dresser drawers. “The wall color is all right but I think we need to commission a new bedstead and dresser from Buck. We need an armoire also to hang up our suits and tidy away our clothes.”

My Ezra is fastidious in the extreme so I just nodded. “We can move this furniture into the other bedroom so it looks like we each have our own room.”

He smiled and slid his arms around me. “I know what you’re thinking, Josiah. You’re thinking that I’m going to take that whole room for my clothes.” He nuzzled a kiss into the hollow of my throat. “And I shall but it will still be a nice room to house a guest or two, should Chris and Vin need a place to stay when they’re in town.”

I just laughed and hugged him close. “We have our work cut out for us, beloved. Why don’t we go back to see if Mr. Farnsworth has some readymade furniture that might suit us? We’re going to be busy with the rest of the sanding, painting and cleaning.”

“An excellent idea, Josiah,” he leaned up and kissed me sweetly. 

I feasted for a long moment on those kissable lips before pulling away with an admonishing look. “We’d best be careful until we get some curtains up at the windows.”

He pouted for a moment then smiled and led me out of our soon-to-be bedroom. “True, my love, unhappily true.”

We joined the others in the furniture shop and Ezra spoke with the owner while I took the rest of our friends back to our storefront. They pledged to help us and Artemis gave us the name of several good men who could sand floors and paint. JD and Buck were content with the rooms above the wood shop and they were ready to move in. There was a spare room there as well and for the nonce, Vin and Chris would live there.

Nathan and Rain were eager to see their new cabin so we locked up behind us and began the walk to their property. Artemis was apologizing for the smallness of the log cabin but Rain was smiling at the two rooms while Nathan still looked a little dazed at the speed of events. There was no furniture at all and Buck said that he’d build what ever they wanted. Ezra immediately offered the furniture in our bedroom for the moment. 

When they said they couldn’t, he reminded them that we’d bought the new mattress in San Francisco and that Mr. Farnsworth had the perfect bed just waiting for us in his shop. He made sure that they knew what a favor it would be for them to take them off our hands and Nathan finally agreed. Ezra surely did have the gift of an agile tongue. But just thinking about tongues made my pants grow tight while I pondered how long it would be before I could get him into a bed.

It was eight hours too long before I accomplished that task.

*********

Ten days later, I looked around our refurbished rooms with a smile of satisfaction. The walls were a bright yellow cream, the floors were gleaming oak, the furniture was sparse but my Ezra had selected each piece so they all went together. The downstairs was still a mess but with the painting done and the last coat of varnish on the floors, we’d soon be setting up shop.

The boxes of books that we bought in San Francisco stayed in the railcar until we had shelves to put them on. We came and went by the back door, taking peeks at the front room and testing the varnish with a quick finger. Another couple of days and we’d be ready to move in. 

“It looks a little bare but we can take our time choosing a good piece or two.” Ezra startled me by sliding his arms around me. “There are several antique stores in San Francisco that Artemis told me about. And I was thinking that we could hang one of Denver’s paintings between the front windows there.”

“I liked that one of a storm on the lake.” I thought the artist had captured the feeling of swirling waters and gusting wind from low-hanging clouds.

“Me too,” Ezra smiled up at me and I couldn’t forebear stealing a kiss from his tempting lips. When our lips slid apart, he cupped my cheek and looked deep into my eyes. “Is it home yet, Josiah?”

“It is, Ezra. You’re here, our friends are safe and happy, and we are well on our way to opening our bookshop.” I thought for a moment and finally captured the elusive feeling. “I love living with you but working with you will be my idea of perfection.”

“You won’t get tired of me?” He grinned.

“Never, beloved, I could never grow tired of you. You are my life,” I kissed him gently and stroked his neck with my hand.

“Hm-m-m,” he sighed and arched into my hand just like that kitten I compared him to. “If we didn’t have to go help Nathan and Rain, I’d take you back to bed and make mad, passionate love to you.”

I chuckled. “I’d like that, Ezra. After we finish the building, we’ll come back and take a hot bath together then you can do what you wish to me.”

His eyes lit up and he planted a hard kiss on my lips. “Yes, beloved.”

We gathered our work tools and joined Buck for the walk to our friends’ cabin. He was enthusiastic about the bookcases he was making for us and told us that they’d be ready to be fitted into place within the week. The smell of freshly hewn wood is an aphrodisiac to me and it appeared for JD as well since Buck was walking a bit bow-legged this morning. The young sheriff had taken to love-making with a vengeance and Buck constantly had that well-fucked look in his eyes.

I knew the feeling. The others were already working when we got there. We were adding two rooms to the tiny cabin that housed our newly weds, a workroom for Nathan’s herbs and a bathroom for the couple. Artemis had ‘found’ an old tub for them, rather like Ezra had ‘discovered’ an old rug that didn’t fit our new rooms but did fit Nathan and Rain’s front room.

Rain had accepted both with alacrity while Nathan began a pro forma protest that never got past the first few words before she sharply elbowed him. Ezra had told them quite sincerely that Rain’s freshly baked loafs of bread that Nathan delivered every morning were more than adequate recompense for an old rug. She had a magic hand at baking and was already under contract with the restaurant Anna’s to provide them with bread and pies.

The community had welcomed all of us with smiles and offers of help. Dr. Jameson had immediately sat down with Nathan and outlined the syrups, potions and salves that he needed in his practice. Our healer had given him some of the remedies that he’d created in Four Corners and the doctor had been well pleased. Ezra had gotten several herbals for Nathan back when we first came together and Will, as the doctor insisted we call him, approved of them.

So we were all settling in quite nicely, I mused while helping Nathan lift the heavy roof trusses into place. Wellington and Denver had volunteered this morning to help us so we were still seven once JD joined us after his morning rounds. Vin and Chris were off riding the acres of our new ranch and deciding where they wanted to build. That would be our next big project and it would need to be finished before winter set in. But it was high summer now so we had plenty of time to build something big enough for them.

It was more important to build the barn where the new mown hay bales would over winter and give shelter to Pony and Peso. It had to be somewhere near the lake but sheltered from the cold winds that howled down the mountain passes from the nearby ranges. We’d all seen the way the earth berm sheltered Artemis and James’ home so that was what Chris and Vin were looking for.

Rain served up a tasty lunch of rabbit stew and fresh baked bread once we finished framing in the two new rooms. After lunch, we finished off the planed board siding while JD and Ezra pounded in the shake shingles on the gently sloping roof. The single fireplace now stood in the middle of the four rooms, so it could heat all four. They’d be looking for a used coal stove to put in the new bathroom for winter but right now it wasn’t needed so their efforts went towards the planting that would be their livelihood.

My muscles were pleasantly aching by the time Ezra and I headed for home. Home, what a wonderful word that was, I thought to myself. Squinting my eyes a bit, I thought I could see the bright red geranium that sat on the bedroom window sill. Ezra had come home with it two days before and it was now our beacon that meant we were close.

We stopped for a moment to speak to Reverend Baker about the Sunday sermon that he’d preached just two days before. He was a well-read man and so far I’d enjoyed his thoughtful sermons. He was looking forward to our shop opening and I thought that some of the travel books we’d purchased would soon find a new home with him.

But then we were unlocking our back door and checking the varnish again in the front room. It was no longer tacky so once we were sure that it was completely dry, we’d start moving in our book cases. Wellington had almost finished our roll top desk since he’d had all the pieces ready cut while he waited for an order. Buck liked that idea so he was cutting extra shelves in anticipation of the citizens of Nice seeing ours and wanting some for their own.

I was sure that he was right since he was a real craftsman. Following Ezra up the stairs, I slowly lost my train of thought while I watched his hips sway just a little bit harder than they really needed to. The flirty smile over his shoulder told me that our bath was going to be extra fun for both of us.

And I was very, very right about that.

He took me to bed with both of us hard and aching to come. Spreading out a towel beneath me, he slid inside of me with dedicated fervor, taking me slowly but deeply. I was burning alive when he flooded me with his warmth but he pulled on my balls and stopped me from following him into release.

“Josiah,” he sighed and I felt his tongue lick up each knob of my spine. “Turn about is fair play. I want you so far inside of me that I’ll cry out your name when I come.”

All right, that sounded good to me. I clenched around his spent shaft when he eased from me but his chuckle told me that he knew what I was doing. I tried to glare at him but that’s a lost cause when I see his sparkling eyes and bright grin. He knows me very well indeed. His teasing kiss to the end of my inflamed cock made me mock growl.

“Impudence, you’re going to be well-loved by the time I’m through with you.” I laid him down in my place, his legs going unerringly around my waist, exposing that small entrance that gives me such pleasure.

“I know that, Josiah.” This smile was so full of love that I had to kiss him again and again.

But once we got our breath back, he handed me the jar that held our liniment with a look of anticipation on his beautiful face. I warmed it in my hands and cupped his pert buttocks with both hands, sliding my fingers down the cleft that hid his small hole while he wriggled all over.

Slow was what I wanted right that moment although I was hard and aching. There would never be any pain in our bed, not even when he seemed to want it by hurrying me. I slid one finger in past the tight muscle and he moaned, his cock stirring just a bit from where it lay on one thigh. I played it in and out for a long moment until I felt the muscle relax enough for a second finger. 

This one came from the other hand and he hissed at the feeling of slippery fullness. “Are my fingers too rough, beloved?”

“Never, Josiah, they just remind me of how beautiful you looked when you were lifting those heavy beams.” He panted a little and wriggled some more. “Please, Josiah, come inside me. I’m ready, really I am.”

I chuckled although my cock thought that sounded like an excellent idea. I brought one finger out and then slid back in with two more. “One more, little love, then I’m going to slowly slide so far inside of you that I nudge your heart.”

“Yes,” his hips moved toward me and his inner muscles spasmed around my fingers making my cock twitch in sympathy. “That’s what I want, Josiah, you so deep within me that I’ll feel you all night and part of tomorrow.”

That picture fired my blood and I slid out my fingers before carefully nudging my thick shaft through that tiny entrance. We both groaned when that happened and I felt him quiver around me while his cock began to firm again. I took it slowly, steadily forging as deep as I could get. The velvet soft walls of his channel clutched at me, his heat melting the liniment into slippery bliss.

“Yes,” he sighed when I was firmly seated. “I can feel your heartbeat, Josiah, pulsing inside of me like a second heart.”

“You have such a way with words, little love.” I rocked gently, nudging his gland with every gentle move. This was something that I learned many years ago when I was young and adventurous in the Far East. Aligning my energies with his, we moved in tandem slowly but surely.

His eyes opened and locked on mine, while our hands met between us, clasping palm to palm while we built a steady rhythm. There wasn’t much movement but what there was bound us together more surely than a rope could have. Our breaths matched, then our heartbeats and finally, I could feel us merge into one being. Taking and taken, giver and receiver, lover and loved.

I don’t know how much time passed before I flooded him with my seed and he pulsed out a little between our stomachs. I do know that we were both wringing with sweat and feeling completely relaxed. I stayed within him while carefully maneuvering one of his legs over to join the other. Then with a slow movement, I slid down to the clean sheets spooning along his back and wrapping myself around him like a blanket, my cock still lodged deep.

“Hm-m, Josiah that was the best yet.” His voice was sleepy. “Did you learn that in India?”

I nuzzled the back of his sweaty neck and licked up to the back of his shell-pink ear. “It’s called Tantric Taoism in the Far East. I expect it’s wasted on the young men there but the older I grow, the more sense it makes. You pace yourself so you can make love for longer periods of time.”

“But this was more, love, we . . .” he searched for the right words and I held my breath to see if he really did understand. “We meshed together. It was like being in one body. You were taking me but so was I taking you. It felt . . . right.”

I bit his earlobe gently. “That’s exactly right, Ezra. The Taoists believe that spirits and also bodies should be shared when two people make love, when two people become as one.”

He thought for a moment, his hands caressing mine where they lay crossed over his stomach. “I like that, Josiah. We can’t ever get married but this is better. I like being inside your heart and having you inside of mine. I wish everyone could feel this good.”

“You have a big heart, little love.” I kissed his shoulder. “I like having you inside of my heart, too. Inside of you is always where I want to be.”

He chuckled and turned just enough to see me. “We’ll have to try it the other way around next time to see if we can do it again.”

I kissed him softly and agreed. Whichever way we made love, it would always be the very best for us. But right now I needed a nap and drawing the sheet up over us, I settled in for a little shut-eye before meeting the others at Anna’s for dinner.

********************


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get the bookshop ready for their grand opening.

********* Artemis ********* 

Things were humming along with our new compatriots. Wellington enjoyed Buck’s stories while lauding his skill with wood-working tools. Reverend Baker and the town council sang the praises of Sheriff Dunne. Will was greatly satisfied with Nathan’s apothecary potions and salves. James brought good news from Chris and Vin. They’d found the perfect spot for their homestead and were headed south to collect and drive their cattle to the cove where they’d already built a corral in anticipation of their new herd.

I know that I was enjoying the delicious pies baked by Mrs. Jackson, which reminded me of the wonderful pies at Bertha’s in New York and so I had told her. Ezra and Josiah’s book shop had not yet opened for business but the grand opening was set for the next Thursday at noon and I planned to be there. At the moment, I was on my way to visit them and see if there was anything that I could do to help.

Knocking at the back door, I was greeted by Josiah’s smiling face. “Good day, Josiah. How is it going?”

“Good day to you, Artemis. Come in and see how far we’ve gotten.” He ushered me through the back room full of empty crates and into the newly painted front room where tall gleaming oak bookcases rose from the freshly sanded floor all the way to the tin-pressed ceiling. The shelves on the right side of the shop were mostly filled and my feet headed for them immediately.

Josiah’s chuckle told me that he approved of my reaction. “I can see that you will be a frequent customer, Artemis.”

“Indeed I will, Josiah.” I smiled over my shoulder before scanning the leather bindings. “You’ve found some gems, my friend. I didn’t know that Twain’s newest had been published.” 

“We got it from the Hungry Mind when we were in San Francisco, along with some other treasures.” He joined me and pointed out a few of his favorites. We fell to talking and pretty soon, we were playing ‘top this story’ about our travels. Ezra had found a gem of great price in this man.

“Josiah!” Ezra’s excited voice from the back room made his lover smile broadly. “Look and see what I found in the stables.”

“What have you found now?” Josiah’s indulgent tones told me even more. Whatever it was, he was prepared to accept it.

“Hello, Artemis.” Sparkling green eyes met mine. “See, Josiah, they are six weeks old today.”

His cupped hands cradled a small furry black kitten with eyes almost the same green of his own. Josiah didn’t stand a chance of saying no to the small beguiler. Ezra’s excited look told me that they now had a pet that would soon have them wrapped around his or her little paw. 

James and I hadn’t really talked about pets, since our horses couldn’t be considered as such. Taking leave of my friends, I decided to walk past the stables to see if any of the litter was still available for adoption. Cats and I got along very well and we always had. Perhaps James would enjoy one, too.

********* Ezra ********* 

I looked hopefully into Josiah’s smiling face and knew that Nero had found a home. I’d gone to check on Chaucer to give him an apple and a promise for a ride the next day. The tiny mewling had caught my attention and when I peeked into the empty stall beside Solon, I’d found the mother cat nursing five kittens. I’d always wanted one but Maude had forbidden such ‘useless baggage’.

There had been many a time when I privately thought that she included me in that description. But that was then and now I had a home, a real home with a man who loved me. Surely he wouldn’t mind one small kitten, I thought. When I knelt beside them and stretched out my hand, the little black one had left his mother’s teat and pounced on me with baby claws outstretched.

Maybe that meant he’d be a good mouse-hunter? I asked Mr. Little if they were spoken for and he said that only one had a home so far. Luckily, black cats are considered bad luck so it was the yellow tabby that had been claimed. He was pleased to give him to us he said and offered a shallow pan with sawdust for a litter tray. The wood shop always had sawdust so I could refill it when there was need. 

“What’s his name, Ezra?” The kitten disappeared into one of Josiah’s large hands. “He’s quite perfect in every way.”

Josiah really is the most wonderful man on the face of the Earth. “I thought Nero would be a nice name. I think he’ll like curling up on the window seat in the sun. I’ve never had a kitten before so I hoped you wouldn’t mind.”

He got that look in his eye that told me he wanted to kiss me but we were standing in the middle of the shop with the shutters pulled back so we were in plain view of the street. “I think we need to go upstairs so we can celebrate our new family member.”

I smiled and took his hand to lead him to the back. We could uncrate more books later. Right now, I wanted to shut Nero in the back room so he could explore to his heart’s content and take my Josiah upstairs to bed. I loved making love in the middle of the day. Of course, any time was a good time to love the most wonderful man in the world.

********* Josiah ********* 

My sweet Ezra deserved everything that I could give him and the small kitten was just one more thing of which he’d been deprived. The legend of bad luck was a potent one but it was just superstition at its worst. The number of old women and black cats who had been sacrificed on the altar of righteousness was depressingly large. This little one would know nothing but kindness in our home.

But I didn’t have time to think about that now because Ezra was leading me upstairs with a gleam in his eyes that told me I was going to be loved right into our sheets. Nero was set on the gleaming floorboards where he immediately went to work sniffing out all the strange and wonderful smells of his new home. I checked behind me to make sure that he had water and his litter box before turning all my attention to my lover . . .

. . . who was walking up our stairs with just a hint of a sway in his shapely backside. Oh yes, this afternoon was for loving. I followed him with the joyful heart I had finally found after decades of searching. My father would think me blasphemous but I worshiped daily at the altar of Ezra, my own benevolent deity. I had the fanciful thought that not all Muses were feminine since Ezra was all male and the source of all my inspiration.

“Josiah, what are you thinking?” Deft hands were unbuttoning my shirt and I realized we’d reached our destination. “Is there something we should be doing instead?”

The note of hesitation in his voice brought me back to the moment. “Beloved Ezra, there is most assuredly nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you. I was pondering the nature of Muses.”

His eyes sparkled up at me. “And you were picturing me as your Muse.” His voice held a hint of smugness but why not, he did know me very well. “I like being your Muse, Josiah.” His clever hands tugged off my shirt and began to play with the curling hairs on my chest. “I never inspired anybody until you came along. Now, I get to help you and work with you and love you and it’s all because you love me. Maybe you were a Muse once upon a time, too?”

I gathered him close, hearing a note of diffidence that in no way belonged in his voice. Scattering little kisses over his beautiful face, I worshiped his pale skin. “Perhaps I was, little love, but you are my own . . . personal . . . Muse . . . right here . . . right now.” He was chortling a little when my whiskers tickled that spot just under his jaw. “We are wearing far too many clothes for us to discuss such a weighty topic as philosophy.”

His sweet giggle made my heart and groin both jump and I knew he could feel it when he wiggled against me. We took our time undressing each other with gentle touches and soft kisses. It was a day for tenderness and I laid him on our bed with the all the reverence he deserved. Kissing him will never pall so I drank him down like the potent wine he is and knew true intoxication like a well-spring of ancient joy from his lips.

“My . . . own . . . beloved . . . Muse,” I kissed my way down his long, elegant throat to the pale pink nipples just waiting for me. “You . . . inspire me . . . to do . . . great . . . and wondrous . . . deeds.”

He wiggled and curled his fingers in my chest hair. “Maybe I could inspire you to come inside of me, giving me all your power.” He pinched a nipple and I felt the pleasure/pain dart through me. “When you’re inside of me, it’s like all the best poetry ever written.”

“Beloved Ezra,” I had no words to tell him how grateful I was he loved me. So I reached for the oil we kept by the bed and began to stretch him. He’s always tight around me but watching him shiver all over and turn wanton is the most inspiring sight in the whole world. The gods must have wept when he was sent down from Olympus to be my Muse.

The moment I first breach him is always a tense one for I’ve never lost the fear of hurting him. But he stretched all those muscles of his and opened his eyes to send a sultry gaze my way. “More, beloved Josiah, give me all of him. Now.”

My love is quite demanding in bed and I give thanks daily for that wonderful trait. Sliding in all the way, I found myself held tight by my lover, his arms and legs clinging to me so I was surrounded by him every where. And *that* is true inspiration.

********* James ********* 

Artemis wasn’t where I’d thought he’d be. Wellington said he’d seen him up earlier but the doors were locked on the soon-to-be opened bookstore and no one was in sight there. I said a distracted hello to Martha Caitlin and she laughed and told me she’d just seen Artemis going into the stables. I apologized for hurrying away but she just waved me off. I couldn’t imagine why he was in the stables since we’d brought the buckboard and it was tied up outside the bank.

Elijah greeted me cheerfully and pointed to the empty stall beside Josiah’s horse, Solon. But it wasn’t empty at all for Artemis was sitting on a three legged stool with two kittens crawling over his lap and another one climbing up his leg. Looking up, he saw me and smiled that crinkly smile that’s mine alone. 

“James, see what lovely kittens Miss Kitty has birthed. Ezra adopted one this morning and I was hoping you’d like to adopt one, too.”

“I think that’s a good idea, Artemis.” I knelt by his side and the kitten climbing his leg detoured over to me when I held out my hand. He was all gray with a tiny star of white on his right front paw. “How very soft they are, Artemis. I don’t think I’ve ever held one so young before.”

“Six weeks today and ready to be weaned from their mother.” He smiled and cradled a little brown and yellow patchwork kitten. “I think we need one for the house and one for the barn. What do you think?”

The little gray was gnawing on my finger with his baby teeth and I could feel the pitter-patter of his tiny heart beating in his chest. “I think this one would be perfect for the house. He’s the same color as the coverlet in the spare guest room.”

He chuckled and I had the urge to kiss him right here and now. I had to drop my eyes for fear of giving myself away and I met the kitten’s eyes to find they were as gray as the rest of him. “I think his name is Grayson, Artemis. Is that all right?”

“It’s perfect.” That deep note in his voice told me I’d be kissed as soon as we were private. “I believe this one should be called Patches since she looks rather like a patchwork quilt herself.”

”Yes, that’s a fine name,” I flirted with him and felt his hand pinch my lower cheek. Oh good, I’d needed chastising for hours and hours.

“Well then, it’s time we head for home so we can introduce our new citizens to their new home.” He stood up after putting the other yellow tabby next to her mother. We carefully left the stall, making sure we didn’t step on a kitten unaware. There were still two left with the mother cat and I hoped she’d be all right with loosing some of her children. 

But she was busy washing one of them while we settled up with Elijah and walked to the bank and our awaiting buckboard. Young Sheriff Dunne greeted us happily on his rounds and he looked excited at the thought of perhaps getting a kitten of his own once he saw ours. Artemis had driven us in so I would be driving us back to the ranch. He made a small nest for the kittens out of a box that had once held potatoes and now held part of our grocery order. A soft scarf which he’d brought in case a breeze came up made a soft bed for them and they curled up together to sleep almost at once.

We passed the Jackson’s cottage with a wave and a cheery ‘good day’ to the newlyweds. But once we were out of sight of everyone, Artemis laid his hand on my lap. I tightened up at once, wondering if my chastisement would begin soon.

“Teasing-James is one of my very favorite characters.” His fingers began undoing my pant’s placket. “But turn-about is fair play and I believe it’s my turn to tease.”

I gulped and turned beseeching eyes to him. “Not all the way back to the ranch, Artemis? Please not that long.”

He smiled sweetly and pulled my now rigid cock out of my pants. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, sweetheart. Now pay attention to the road while I play with my favorite James-toy. And no noise, my love, you don’t want to wake the children.”

I gritted my teeth and felt his warm fingers slowly . . . very, very slowly glove my shaft. It was going to be a very long trip.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawthorne 2005 – Write of the small rituals that govern one’s days or the secret vices that rule one’s nights.

********* Ezra ********* 

I’d never been an early riser although needs must when the devil rides. And while I was gambling, the devil rarely rode my shoulder but now I was a book store proprietor, early morning rising had become de rigueur. Well, early for me. Josiah liked rising at dawn and I’d come to appreciate his habit since it bode so very well for my comfort.

He’d get up first, slowly easing out from under me with gentle touches that made me want to tell him I was already awake. Losing a heat source like Josiah would wake up anyone. But I’d pretend to still be asleep so he could move out to begin his ritual awakening chores. Since the weather continued warm, he stayed naked while starting his tasks and I always slit my eyes to watch him pad out of our bedroom, looking like Atlas searching for his world. 

First he would head to the kitchen and pump out enough water for our morning requirements which include putting on the kettle and heating water for our shaves. Then he rekindled the stove fire while humming rather tunelessly. I don’t think he even knows he’s doing that for when I asked him a few weeks back what tune it was, he looked blankly at me and shook his head.

Sad to say, his beautiful speaking voice does not translate into a singing one. Still, it showed me he was happy for that’s the only time he hums. And that made me smile in thanksgiving that I’m the one who makes him happy. Wiggling a little deeper into the warm hollow he left behind, I fluffed the pillow under my head and waited for him to return to me.

He’d be putting on his robe that hangs on the back of the bathroom door now so he could go downstairs to get the fresh loaf of bread delivered by Rain to our back stoop. She delivers to 11 families and the restaurant now which is such a blessing. The extra money she makes goes into their savings so they can get some of those necessities we can not provide for ourselves – candles and oil in bulk for their lamps to name a few.

Nathan’s business as apothecary was booming and even our back room had stems of sweet smelling herbs hanging from the heavy oak beams. We also now had a large planter box the width of our front window sitting on the plank sidewalk. I planted red geraniums first then filled in with tall spikes of English lavender, creeping thyme to spill over the sides of the box and pungent oregano to provide some purple foliage.

I paused my musings on my gardening venture to listen to Josiah coming back up the stairs to the kitchen. He was humming again and I smiled while snuggling deeper into our quilt. He was cutting the loaf into slices and pulling out the pot of raspberry jam from our terra cotta cooling box. I’d learned something new the day he showed it to me. I’d never realized that wetting the sides of the big bowl before upending it over what you wanted to keep cool would draw the heat from inside and keep your butter or jam from getting moldy.

He learned that in India, he told me and I marveled at the wisdom he had in that great mind of his. He blushed when I told him that and I knew he didn’t quite believe me but he wanted to. I’d convince him one of these days or my name wasn’t Ezra P. Standish. Little mewlings told me that Nero had ascended the stairs with my lover and he was demanding Josiah feed him. 

There should have been a pint of cream from the Grangers dairy delivery alongside the loaf of bread so our kitten was dining like royalty while Josiah whispered to him ‘not to wake Ezra up’. Smiling fondly, I heard the tea kettle beginning to whistle and Josiah quickly removing it from the stove. He would have the blue-white china teapot out with four teaspoons of the Assam tea, we were drinking this month, ready for the boiling water.

The teapot and six handless cups had come from Chinatown in San Francisco and had a beautiful dragon painted on each delicate cup. The spout of the teapot was a dragon’s head and the handle was his sinuous tail. I’d fallen in love with it at once and Josiah had bought it when he saw how my eyes kept straying back to it. We had a perfectly good white teapot but something in the craftsmanship called to me.

I was such a lucky man to have such a wonderful lover.

A rattle told me to close my eyes again. Josiah always tiptoed into our bedroom while Nero scampered ahead of him. Another slight ‘kerplunk’ and the tray was deposited on the bed side table. Then gentle fingers stroked my cheek while tiny kitten claws scrabbled their way up the quilt to my chest.

“Good morning, beloved.” Soft lips brushed mine and I had to smile.

Opening my eyes, I looked up into a brilliant blue gaze. “Good morning, Josiah. I love you.”

His eyes lit up and this kiss was much warmer than the first. We tasted most nearly of ourselves before brushing our teeth and I loved that. A plaintive meow broke us apart while Nero chastised us for neglecting him. I sat up with Josiah’s aid and pushed my pillow up to cushion my back while my lover poured the first cup of tea of the new day.

“The weather looks perfect, Ezra. I believe we’ll be able to open the front door and leave it propped open for the day.” Josiah sat by my hip and watched me sip my tea, his own cup almost forgotten.

I smiled at him. “Every day is perfect when we’re together, my love. But I do like the idea of welcoming the townspeople and the fresh air into our shop.”

He took his own sip and rubbed my leg through the quilt. He liked to touch me whenever possible and since I liked that too, we did it a lot. Clothed or unclothed, all that mattered was our connection through touch. Next would come feeding each other our bread and jam. That was even more of a ritual since we licked away any smears on each other. That sometimes led to making love before we dressed for the day.

I grinned at my lover – I thought perhaps that ritual should become an everyday one. Leaning forward, I lapped a drop of tea of his lips. “Hm-m-m, Josiah-flavored tea is surely a delicacy for only the most discerning of patrons.”

His chuckle shook the bed and his tongue darted out to tickle my chin. “Nothing but the best for the king of my heart, Ezra.”

Such an avowal still made me blush. Once we were finished with breakfast, I would watch Josiah shave as I did each morning then, once his whiskers would leave no burn behind, I would entice him back to bed and make slow – careful love to him. Perhaps we would even open the shop a little later than usual. Smiling slowly, I rubbed Nero’s tummy while he purred for me and Josiah poured us both more tea.

I thought I’d see just how long it took me to make Josiah purr this morning. Perhaps he’d eventually convert me into an early riser, too. Perhaps.

***********************


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistletoe 2005 – Festival of Light

********* Josiah ********* 

"That's the last one, my love," Ezra comes up behind me in our downstairs workroom and slips his arms around my waist. "I love having candles in every window."

"In the old days, it was to coax the sun back from its winter journey." Covering his hands with mine, I bring one to my lips for a soft kiss. "Every home in the village would have a candle in each opening, including the doorways. On a dark winter night, their small towns must have looked quite magical."

"What else does the winter solstice mean?" Circling around me, he hugs me tight and looks up, his big green eyes sparkling in the soft candlelight. "I know there was something about oak and mistletoe and the ancient Druids."

"Ah, it's true the ancients worshiped the sun and moon in all their phases." I pick him up and carry him upstairs so we can be quite private. He chuckles and slides his arms around my neck so he can kiss my cheek. A full kiss would be too dangerous on the stairs.

But when we reach our bedroom, he immediately starts unbuttoning my shirt. "And they did it naked under the sky in their sacred groves. I read about that in one of the new books I unpacked yesterday. The writer was shocked but I think it sounds like fun."

Setting him down on the floor, I do a little unbuttoning of his own nattily dressed self. "It's true they worshiped sky clad, which must have been quite chilly in England in December. But they also drank a very potent mixture of mead so perhaps they stayed warm that way."

His eyes gleam up at me while his warm hands delve into my pants. "There were certain pagan rites that kept them warm, too. The author sounds quite appalled at the so called 'disgusting' things the Druids did to each other."

I need him naked right now. So I hurry my unbuttoning and soon we wear only each other. Running my hands over his silky body, I remember his last words. "It's true the Druids practiced rituals that would shock our Christian brethren. My favorite is their virgin sacrifice."

He chuckles then turns shy in the blink of an eye. "Master, why do I have to be naked for this ceremony? I feel quite odd after drinking the sacred mead."

Picking him up, I carry him to our bed, waiting with cool, crisp sheets for us. The only lights in the room are the two candles flickering in the windows. The shadows on the walls dance with the passing of our bodies near them. Laying him down gently, I follow him down until I cover him with my larger self.

"The Goddess asks us to come to Her unadorned, little one. The ceremony tonight is a sacrifice to her of something we hold most dear." I smooth kisses over his face and down his tender throat.

"What do I have that she would want, Master?" His breathless whisper tells me he has slipped completely into our small play.

"Your innocence is pleasing to Her, little love. As Her priest, I will sacrifice your purity in Her name. There will be some pain but it is your pleasure that will please Her the most." My fingers tweak his nipples to hard peaks.

"Oh-h, that feels so strange, Master." His eyes slit with pleasure and his body flexes under my caresses. "But very pleasurable too, I like it when you touch me. It makes me tingle everywhere."

"Touching you makes me tingle too, little one." Heaven knows that's the truth. "Now, there's a special oil with which I need to anoint you so you're ready to give the Goddess your pleasure."

He reaches out an arm and plucks the bottle of liniment Nathan makes up for us. "Here's the sacred ewer with the special oil, Master."

I really shouldn't enjoy being called Master so much. It's extremely prideful and I'll need to pay a severe penance later. Maybe I'll be able to talk Ezra into playing the Bishop and the Priest after church services tomorrow. He makes a most severe prelate while I play the lowly sinner of a priest. Where was I?

Oh yes, preparing the lovely victim, I mean willing acolyte, for his deflowering. "Thank you, little one. I'm going to just make sure you're nicely oiled for Her pleasure. I'm going to be touching you in a most private place but just remember any pain is necessary for the ceremony."

His eyes are sparkling like emeralds in the candlelight and his heart-shaped face is most demure when he looks up at me. "I'm not afraid, Master, I know you don't want to hurt me. What should I do to help?"

Sweet Circe, he'd tempt an angel to sin. "I'm going to teach you to open to me, little one. Right now, I'd like you to kiss me."

His blush is positively enticing. "Yes, Master." And he kisses my cheek.

"Very nice, little one, but I am going to teach you a new kind of kiss." My lips take his, parting them so I can slide my tongue inside his hot mouth. Oh, this is heaven indeed and I feast on him for a long moment before remembering I'm supposed to be getting him ready for me.

"Oh, Master, that felt wonderful. Is that the pleasure the Goddess wants from me?" His eyes are lazy with pleasure when he lies back down and spreads his legs for me. "It feels very hot in here, Sir. Why is that?"

My hands are slick with oil and I trail them up his thighs to the lovely cock rising from his groin. "Pleasure warms the blood, little one and that is only one of the pleasures She wishes from you. Now, stay still for me while I open up a new place on your body."

I grasp his cock with one hand and slide my fingers around him lovingly. His back arches and his eyes go slit-eyed with pleasure. "Oh, Master, no one has ever touched me there before. It feels so good."

"I'm glad, little one, now relax for me while I show you something else new about your body." My other hand caresses his balls for a moment before sliding behind them to the crease between his cheeks. We'd made love this morning and once this afternoon so he is still somewhat stretched for me. Two fingers slide in through the tight muscles guarding his entrance and his hips shift restlessly.

"Master!" His hands slide down to my arms and hold onto my forearms. "You're inside me. No one has ever touched me there. It does hurt a little."

"The pain will turn to pleasure," I promise him and rake one of my fingers over his gland. He shouts my name and I feel my pride swell even higher. "There, you see, little one. The Goddess will find your sacrifice most worthy. Now be brave while I anoint my shaft."

"Why do you anoint your shaft, Master? Oh, how very big he is." His wide-eyed gaze has such a wicked little light behind it. "Oh, Master, he is bigger than the oak tree in our grove."

All right, a little hyperbole can be damn sexy and I feel my cock twitch. "The better to bring you pleasure, little one. Now I'm going to come inside of you so relax as much as you can."

He nods, holding back his own legs so he's bent almost in half. My crown presses in steadily while his muscles try to keep me out but finally I slide inside. Dear Goddess, he is tighter than he's ever been. The little mewling sounds he's making fire my blood the way nothing else can. Slowly, I slide in until my balls hit his cheeks. We're both panting now and I lean in to kiss the soft lips he's biting.

We feast for a long moment then I need to move. "How is it, little love? Is the pain turned to pleasure yet?"

His eyelashes flutter a little and his look is slightly dazed. "Oh Master, you're inside of me. I feel spitted on your mighty oak branch. There is a little pleasure."

The little minx, we'll see about mighty branches. "There will be much pleasure before we're done. Move with me."

We settle into a rhythm, our hips moving in counterpoint to each other. Slowly at first but gradually we speed up until the whole bed is shaking. Thank goodness Buck builds a very solid product. His hands clutch my shoulders while mine hold his hips close. His moans heat my blood and soon, I know I'll have to come. Wrapping one hand around his cock, I stroke it until he shrieks and comes hard.

His muscles milk my shaft dry and I roll us to our sides so I don't crush him. Cradling him to my chest, I chuckle tiredly when a pert tongue licks the nipple over my heart.

"My most wondrous Master, I think the Goddess must have enjoyed it as much as I did. Can we do it again for Her?" The teasing tones make me smile.

"We shall do it again and again, little love. She enjoys it whenever two of Her lovers come together." I nestle a kiss to his sweaty temple.

Green eyes gleam up at me. "After church, we can come home and worship each other in the living room. Those candles are vanilla scented so it will smell even better when we make love."

I pull up the blanket from the foot of the bed to keep us warm now that we're not moving so much. "I think I'll probably be in need of the Bishop's counsel to repent from all my sins, Ezra."

"Oh, chastisement," he licks his lips, "I think you have been a little prideful lately, Josiah. I'll see what I can come up with."

Closing my eyes, I smile and cuddle him closer. What ever he chooses, we'll both enjoy it. Our fervent worshiping is sure to bring the sun back to us on this gloomy Solstice day. I'd just have to make sure the candles didn't go out until sunrise tomorrow. And Christmas is coming. I can hardly wait.

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End file.
